Book 28 - Games People Play
by GailDunn2
Summary: WARNING: Contains adult content. Team Free Will must contend with a grave peril on Earth, but the real danger may lurk in Heaven. Power corrupts some individuals, while others thrive. Will politics change the Angels, or will they remain true to themselves?
1. Power Trip

Chapter 1 - Power Trip

Anthony hadn't even had time to hang up the phone.

The huge tidal wave came crashing down, obliterating Anthony, his wife, and their beachfront home in an instant.

Seconds later, Agent Redding and his partner were also dead, along with much of the population of Fort Lauderdale. Low-rise homes and other buildings were destroyed by the force of the tsunami. A few concrete office towers remained standing, and the rushing green, slushy waters cascaded and swirled around them.

The occasional person had survived the initial onrush of the water, as people will, sometimes; due to fate, courage, or sheer, dumb luck. They were clinging on to anything stable that they were able to grab, just trying to keep their heads above the rushing waters and not get swept away.

It was these few fortunate people that Agent Redding had managed to save, although he would never know about it, of course. Because as the catastrophic wave ripped through town, four people appeared out of nowhere to help the victims.

They'd seen it on the news in the bunker, but none of them had had any idea how bad the situation truly was. Cas had popped them all right into the path of the wave, not realizing that all of them would be caught up in it, too.

They were immediately swept up in the rushing waters. Sam and Dean were carried a block or two away before they were able to wrap their arms around a couple of slender palm trees that were bending in the wind, but fortunately, they were still standing, at least for the moment.

Cas's heart was in his throat. What had he done? He should have taken the time to position them all better. Luckily, he'd been holding firm onto Gail's hand when they'd first appeared. The brothers had been torn from the couple's grasp, but Cas had automatically wrapped his arms around Gail to protect her. As Sam and Dean were swept down the street, Cas was fortunate enough to be able to snag his legs around a metal fence, holding himself and Gail in place. He made sure to hold her head above the water as the worst of the onslaught passed through the core of the city.

Gail was bedraggled and shivering in Cas's arms. There were huge chunks of green ice in the water they were submerged in. It was like being plunged suddenly into a blender with the ingredients for a giant Slushy, and then having someone hit the Puree button. Had she ever said she preferred the cold? If she survived, she was going to put on about fourteen blankets, find out where the bunker's thermostat was, and crank it up to the max.

The motion of the water lessened a little as the crest of the wave passed them by. But now, Dean became aware of another problem.

"Sammy!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Ten o'clock!"

Sam looked to his left, and he saw what Dean was seeing: a huge alligator, rushing right towards them. Crap. This was exactly why he'd wanted to bring the weapons. But now, their guns were soaking wet, and the force of the rushing water was preventing them from doing anything at the moment except hanging on for dear life.

Thankfully, the same motion that was holding the would-be heroes helpless was also washing the alligators down the street, and incredibly, Sam now saw a shark rush by them, as well. He was reminded of those movies, the ones where the sharks got swept up in storms and terrorized the people on land, with hilariously schlocky results. A laugh bubbled up in his throat. If he lived, he would have to remember to tell the others about that.

Eventually the waters slowed down, and the men were able to loosen their death grips on the trees, and the fence. But now, they were presented with another problem. They were standing chest-deep in freezing waters, with guns in their pockets that wouldn't work, and the alligators that were being swept away a minute ago were swimming around leisurely now.

A particularly large alligator with huge teeth rose up out of the murky water beside Cas and Gail, and she screamed. Cas pulled his blade out of his blazer pocket with one hand, pushing her forward toward the fence with the other. "Grab on!" he shouted, putting her arm on the fence. The waters had subsided somewhat, but there was no way he was going to risk her being carried off.

As Gail grabbed hold of the fence, Cas leaped at the alligator and drove his Angel blade into its eye. Then he stabbed it again through the snout, as he'd seen in that Crocodile Dundee movie. Then he seized the carcass, and threw it aside with a big splash. "Sam! Dean!" he yelled, as loudly as he could. "Alligators! Watch out!"

But the brothers were already having their own battles with the creatures, down the street. They managed to kill a few with knives, as Cas had done, but as the wave petered out, they realized with a sinking feeling that there were way too many of them. And now that they were able to take a moment to look, they saw that there were other people around them here and there, hanging onto stationary items like they had been.

"Cas! There's too many! And there are people here, too!" Dean called out to their friend. Dean started to wade through the water towards a woman who had been lucky enough to have been carrying an umbrella when the storm had started. When the wave hit, she had been sheltered from its initial impact by a van which had been washed down the street. The vehicle had been upended and then turned on its side, then gotten wedged in-between two buildings. Beryl had been carrying an umbrella with a hooked handle, and the hook had somehow attached itself to the bumper of the van. So Beryl had hung on to her umbrella for dear life throughout the worst of the rushing water, and because she'd been protected by the truck, she had avoided being drowned, or swept away.

But now, she had finally been able to let go and splash her way out from behind the van, only to be confronted by a hungry alligator. It seemed to be grinning at her, contemplating what a great meal she would make.

"Oh, come on!" Beryl exclaimed. She couldn't believe this. She had just survived a tsunami, and now she was going to be an alligator's lunch. How bad had she been in her lifetime, anyway?

But suddenly, a man came splashing up out of nowhere. He grabbed the alligator's tail, taking its attention away from Beryl, and then he pulled out a knife. "Get back behind that van!" Dean yelled at her. Then he started stabbing the alligator, and Beryl splashed quickly back to her hiding place. Sounded good to her. The water might be freezing, but it was a million times better than being eaten alive.

Cas was also realizing that there were way too many alligators in the water, and that there were some survivors who needed saving. So he sprang into action. His first and most important priority was Gail, of course. He splashed back to where she was and said, "Put your arms around my neck." She did, and he concentrated for a moment. Then he felt his wings come out of his back, ripping through his shirt and blazer. He hadn't bothered to take the time to disrobe. He could always get new clothes, but Gail was irreplaceable.

He picked her up and flew her to the rooftop of one of the highrise buildings, setting her down gently. "Stay here," he said sternly.

"Cas, are there people down there? I need to help them," she said, agitated.

"No," he said shortly.

"What do you mean?" she shouted. "I can teleport too, you know!"

He could hear screaming coming from the street down below, and Cas's lips pursed with indecision. "All right," he said finally. "But be careful of the alligators. Please."

Gail smiled at her husband. He was so sweet. So protective. "I will. Now, go. Save some people."

Cas put his wings away. If they were wet, they would just weigh him down. He could have kicked himself. He had panicked when he had been looking to save her; of course, he could have just teleported her up here. He looked at Gail for another second, and then he winked himself back down to the street.

Gail looked down from her vantage point. She saw Cas, Sam, and Dean, fighting and killing alligators to get to people. And then she saw Beryl. The woman that Dean had saved had hoisted herself up on top of the van to look around. She had her arms wrapped around herself, and she was shivering. Now that the adrenaline had worn off a bit, Beryl was freezing cold. What was she supposed to do now? Beryl could see the men, fighting to rescue other people now. She could see why. Out of everyone, she was in the safest position, so Beryl didn't blame them for leaving her where she was, for now. Her teeth were chattering as she watched the tallest man grab a little boy and hoist him up on his shoulders, above the waterline.

Suddenly, Beryl felt a hand on her arm. She looked down to see a short, dark-haired woman, whose hair and clothes were also soaked. "Take my hand," Gail instructed her. Beryl looked at her blankly, and Gail let out a frustrated breath. She didn't have time for this. As it was, they would have to figure out how they were going to explain everything they were currently doing after everyone was taken care of.

So Gail grabbed Beryl's hand and teleported her up to the roof of the office building. Then she popped back down into the street, and into Cas's arms. "Lift me up," Gail instructed him. He did, and she reached out to grab the boy who was sitting on Sam's shoulders. Once she had a hold of him, she popped him up to the rooftop. The child was crying now, and Beryl came forward to comfort him as Gail popped back down to the street. She had spotted a man who was standing on the fractured terrace of another concrete building, so she popped over to get him now, too. When the rescue planes or helicopters or whatever there would be came, she thought it would make sense to have all of the survivors in one spot.

Cas popped a few other people up to the rooftop, and then he put his arm around Gail and gave her a squeeze. "That's it, as far as I can tell. I'm going back to get Sam and Dean," he told her, kissing her on the forehead. "You were fantastic," he said softly. "So brave."

Right. Like she'd had a choice. It was a good thing Angels couldn't poop their pants, she thought wryly. He might not think she was so brave then.

While Cas went back down to get their friends, Gail started to make the rounds, checking the survivors. The little boy had a gash on his forehead and one on his arm, so she healed those, then dried his clothes. "Sorry, I can't do hair," she said to the child, chucking him under the chin.

Then Gail moved on to Beryl, who was still sitting protectively next to the boy. "Do you have any injuries?" she asked the woman.

"No, I don't think so. I'm just freezing," Beryl said.

"Here, let me dry your clothes for you, at least," Gail said, waving her hands over the girl. "I wish I could do hair, I really do. It's kind of silly, when you think about it. Oh, well. I'm sure the people who pick you up will have some towels and blankets."

"Who are you people?" Beryl asked, amazed.

Gail thought for a moment. "Just people who want to help," she said vaguely.

Cas came back to the rooftop with Sam and Dean, and Gail rushed over to them. "Are you guys OK?" she said, clutching at them.

"Yeah, we're fine, but we're gonna need some more guns," Sam commented with a half-smile.

"Now that I know we're not gonna die, I have to admit, that was pretty cool," Dean said. "Talk about Crocodile Dundee, times three. We kicked some amphibian ass."

Cas was much too happy that everyone was safe to point out that those had been alligators, and that alligators were reptiles. "I think we got a fair amount of them, but we'll have to tell these people to let the officials know to be careful," he said. Gail was waving her arms over him now, drying his clothes. His shirt and blazer were torn open in the back, where his wings had emerged. Gail tried waving her hands there too, but nothing happened. "Apparently, I can clean and dry clothes, but I can't repair them," she commented. "Oh, well. We'll get you some spiffy new clothes. You'll be making a lot of public appearances soon. Maybe we can ask Riley if he's done a poll on what colour the female Angels would most like to see you in."

Cas smiled wearily. "Don't laugh; he probably has," he replied. As Gail moved on to checking the Winchesters for injuries and drying their clothes, Cas looked up at the sky. "I can hear the rescue helicopters coming," he advised the others. "I'll check the rest of these people for serious injuries, but I don't think we'll have the time to modify them all."

Gail looked at him. "Then I guess we'll just have to channel Frank and Matty, and tell them the truth."

"That we're Angels?" Cas said doubtfully.

"Sure, why not?" Gail replied. "I don't see what the harm is. You hear stories like that all the time. People surviving natural disasters, thanking God or Angels for saving them."

Cas thought about that as he circulated amongst the people they had saved, checking them for wounds. He supposed she was right, in a way. What was the harm? Didn't people need a little light and hope in their lives every once in a while?

"There's only one problem," Sam said, lowering his voice. "We all know that this wasn't a natural disaster, don't we?"

"Yes, but THEY don't," Gail said, gesturing towards the people on the rooftop. "And until we can figure out what's going on, maybe they don't need to know anything else."

"Cas knows," Dean said tersely. "I can see it in his face."

They all looked over at Cas. He was healing the arm of a little girl who'd been in her mother's arms when Cas had lifted them both to safety. The child was staring at Cas, open-mouthed. He patted her on the head and gave her a gentle smile.

"Yeah, he knows," Dean said again.

"Well, at least we'll have first-hand knowledge when somebody uses that expression from now on," Sam said, opening his jacket to let Gail dry his shirt underneath.

Dean looked at his brother. "Yeah? What expression is that, Sammy?"

Sam grinned. "Being up to your ass in alligators."

The brothers laughed, and Gail shook her head slowly. She guessed that was funny now, but boy, things had been scary there for a few minutes.

Cas rejoined them. "Everyone's cuts have been healed, but some of them might have internal injuries. I think we've done all we can here. Gail and I will take you back to the bunker, and then we can discuss what we're going to do about this. I think we all know it isn't over."

The others nodded. Whatever it was that Cas knew or didn't know, they were aware that this couldn't have been a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon. Giant tidal waves didn't just hang in midair.

With one last uneasy glance at the survivors on the rooftop and the green, slushy water down below, the Angels winked the Winchesters back to the bunker.

As Sam checked his laptop for other odd weather reports, Cas was pacing the library floor.

"What do you know?" Dean asked him impatiently.

"I don't really know anything, but I have some very strong suspicions," Cas replied. He looked at Sam. "What have you been able to find out?"

Sam gave him a half-shrug. "I don't know, Cas. There are reports of unusual weather in a few places, but it's kind of hard to pin down. Weather patterns can be weird this time of year, anyway: spring like one day, wintery the next."

Cas's lips pursed in frustration. He had a very strong suspicion that he knew exactly what had caused that tsunami, but it would be nice to have a bit more to go on.

"I do have a geographical algorithm I've been working on," Sam remarked. His fingers were flying as he typed data into his laptop. "I might be able to pinpoint the source of some of these disturbances." He concentrated for a moment, then squinted at the screen. "Nevada. That's what the program is telling me."

"Isn't that where CNN said that terrorist was calling from?" Dean asked his brother, looking over Sam's shoulder at the computer screen.

"It's not a terrorist," Cas said, his heart sinking. "It's the U.S. Government." He stopped pacing and looked at Sam again. "I think, if you refine that algorithm, you will find that these so-called 'disturbances' originate from a place we might be a little familiar with: Area 51."

Gail and the Winchesters all exchanged glances as Cas continued, "I tried to call Gabriel before we left for Fort Lauderdale, but he didn't answer. I'm reasonably sure that there is still some of his essence at that military base, and that they have been using that essence to influence the weather, somehow."

Gail's mouth dropped open. Of course. That was the only logical explanation, wasn't it? Gabriel had told them that he felt deflated, and he had needed several days to recharge his powers before he could send them back to Creation to get the blood samples they'd needed for Dean's revival spell.

Cas had stopped short again, and he was looking off into space with unfocused eyes. His wife and friends recognized that look, so they waited patiently. A minute later, Cas's brow furrowed. "I can sense Gabriel," he announced.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, OK. So what?"

"No, you don't understand, Dean," Cas said, growing agitated. "I can sense him in two places at once. How can he be in two places at once? Even Archangels can't do that." Then his blood ran cold as he realized: there could only be one way that could happen.

Cas rushed over to Gail, who was sitting in her usual seat at the library table. When they'd gotten back to the bunker, she had gone down the hall to the linen closet to get a couple of towels, and she had been sitting there towel-drying her hair while Cas had been pacing.

"I have to find out for sure," Cas told his wife. "Please stay here with Sam and Dean. I'll be right back." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, and then, he was gone.

Gail threw her towel on the table in frustration. It had been a while since Cas had done something like that, just popped out without telling anyone where he was going or what he planned to do. He'd said he wanted to find out for sure: was he going to see Gabriel and talk to him? But if so, why couldn't Gabriel just come here?

She sighed. "If I make a pot of coffee, will you guys let me sniff your mugs?"

Cas reappeared in a small office just a couple of blocks from the Las Vegas Strip. This was the secondary location of the signal he'd received when he had sent out the feelers. He'd known this wasn't Gabriel, though the feeling of his essence was similar. It was hard to explain, and Cas hadn't wanted to take the time to try to articulate it. If what Cas thought what happening now was really happening, there was no time to lose.

He hadn't wanted the General to know he was coming, and luckily, Adrian didn't know how the sensor worked in reverse. The General had been sitting at the desk in his little out-of-the-way office off base. He had actually been spending a quiet moment there, before packing up his few belongings. There would be no need for this place any more.

Adrian jumped up from his chair when Cas appeared in front of him, out of the blue. "What are YOU doing here?" the General shouted.

"I'm here to get what you have taken from my Brother," Castiel told him calmly.

"And what do you imagine that to be?" Adrian answered in kind. He began to walk around the desk to where Cas stood.

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Cas replied.

Adrian faced him. "All right, maybe I do. But, so what? I'm not giving it back. I like it."

Cas's heart sank. So, it was as he had feared. "How much essence have you ingested?" he asked the General.

Adrian folded his arms. "Enough to kick your ass," he said boldly.

"You don't understand," Cas appealed to him. "Humans are not meant to possess that kind of power. Soon it will take you over, and it will control you, instead of the other way around."

The General looked at him with contempt. He had enough of Gabriel's essence in him to know now that Castiel was a screw-up, an Angel of such little import that God had sent him to Earth just to be rid of him. How dare he lecture Adrian about power? Maybe Castiel couldn't handle this kind of power, but Adrian certainly could. "I'm in the driver's seat, here," he told Cas. "My in-laws deserved to die in that tsunami."

Cas was starting to get very angry now. "Whether or not that's true, how about the thousands of other people you killed with what you did?"

Adrian shrugged. "They were only humans, Castiel. Turns out that Raphael had the right idea. Humans are insignificant little ants. We are the ones who should rule." He looked calmly at Cas. "So either get on board, or I will end you. Where do your human friends live, again? Maybe I'll brew up a nice, big earthquake, or make it rain brimstone and napalm there."

Cas withdrew his Angel blade from his jacket pocket. The garment was still tattered in the back, but the General hadn't commented on that. Perhaps he hadn't noticed. Or maybe, he already knew. Just how much of Gabriel's powers and how many of his abilities were present in this man's body?

"You know I can't let you do that," Cas told him. "I'll give you one more chance to stop. Let me bring my Brother here, and you can give him back his essence. Then, we will leave you alone."

Adrian laughed harshly. "That won't be happening. You stole him from me in the first place. But that's okay. I don't need him now. Our lab has the formula, and they can make as much of it as I need, to get what I want."

"And what is that, exactly?" Cas said wearily. "To rule the world? Make people bow to your will? What is the point of that?"

"The point is what I say it is!" Adrian yelled. "But I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand, Castiel. You're a pathetic excuse for an Angel. You come here to Earth possessing the power that you do, yet you let the humans walk all over you."

"They're my friends. My family," Cas said firmly.

"No, you're their pet," Adrian said scornfully. "If you're too stupid to see that, you're too stupid to be of any use to me." He threw his arms out, and Cas went flying across the room. He crashed into the wall, hard, and the Angel blade came out of his hand.

Adrian rushed over to the spot where the blade had landed. He picked it up and examined it. "If this blade could talk, I wonder what it would say?" he asked in a conversational tone. "Or would it just start to scream? One scream for each of our Brothers and Sisters you've killed over the centuries, maybe? That would go on for quite a while, wouldn't it?"

Cas was slowly picking himself up off the floor, and his eyes were wide as he looked at the General. The man had become unhinged. He was speaking as if he were an Archangel himself. "You have no right to speak about such things," Cas said in his quiet voice. "All you are is an essence thief. A human with delusions of grandeur."

Adrian shrugged. "That may be, but I'm still going to be the one who finally takes you down."

"Is that so?" Cas replied, slowly advancing on him. "Well, go ahead, then. I'm right here, and you have my weapon."

"So I do," the General said in an amused tone.

"But, as you pointed out, I have powers, too," Cas said. He pointed his finger at Adrian's hand and the blue ray of light came out, making the General drop the blade.

Adrian charged Cas, and the men began to fight. Cas punched Adrian and the General fell onto his desk, collapsing it. But as Cas jumped on top of Adrian and put his hands around the General's throat, choking him, Adrian reached out his arm in desperation. His hand felt around and closed on the telephone that had sat on his desk and he swung it at Cas's head with full force, knocking the Angel away from him and to the side. Then Adrian dove for the Angel blade and pinned a dazed Cas to the floor, holding it to his throat.

"I'm not a useless sack of shit, who'll never amount to anything," Adrian said through gritted teeth. The General was completely delusional now, seeing his father-in-law's face superimposed on Cas's. Taunting him. "I've got the power, and I'll kill you or anyone else who tries to stand in my way. I'm going to keep on taking my shots, and I'm going to live forever. No damn three-letter disease is taking me down. I won't allow it."

Now Cas understood. The General had received the same type of diagnosis that Wyatt had. With a probable death sentence hanging over his head, he'd felt like he had nothing to lose in letting himself be a guinea pig for whatever formula the technicians in the lab had cooked up, using Gabriel's essence as its base. And there was no one more dangerous than someone who felt like they had nothing left to lose.

As Adrian's mind went deep into his delusion, his grip on Cas eased slightly, enough for the Angel to regain the upper hand. He bucked the General off of him, wrestling the blade out of Adrian's hand.

"I'm sorry, but there's only one way this can end," Cas told him. "You should not have trifled with an Archangel of the Lord." He thrust the blade into Adrian's chest, killing him instantly.

As Adrian died, his mouth dropped open, and Gabriel's essence started to issue from it. The purple smoke startled Cas. It was one thing to realize intellectually what this man had done, but it was quite another to see it with his own eyes. This was his Brother's life force, and it was floating away. Soon it would dissipate, and Gabriel would never get it back. Cas looked around frantically, but he could see nothing to capture the essence in.

He had no choice. He bent over Adrian's body and put his mouth close to the General's, inhaling the escaping essence until every bit of it had left the General's body.

Cas lingered for a moment, just to be sure. Then he looked at his Angel blade, wiping the blood that was on it on Adrian's clothes. He stood, stretching to his full height, and then he reared back and kicked Adrian in the head, hard. "That's for keeping me prisoner all that time, dickwad," he said contemptuously.

He was about to wink out when it occurred to him: This dick in uniform might be dead now, but the job was not yet done. Hadn't he talked about a formula, one that they were making back at the base? How much of Gabriel's essence were they still holding there? That was a dangerous game they were playing, and besides, that stuff belonged to Gabe, not them. He was gonna need it back, too. Wasn't Raguel still out there, somewhere? If Castiel and his little Kitten and those flannel-shirted male models thought they were going to be able to take on an Archangel of the Lord without Gabriel to help them, they were dreaming. Gabe needed his mojo back.

Castiel looked down at the floor, regarding Adrian's body coldly for a moment. Then he knelt down beside it, gripped his blade tightly, and chopped Adrian's arm off at the elbow. He wrested it away from the corpse, as a person would pull a drumstick off of a turkey. Then he winked himself out of the office.

He reappeared in the library area of the bunker holding Adrian's arm, which was dripping blood all over the floor.

"What the hell, Cas?" Dean exclaimed, jumping from his chair.

"Who's up for a heist?" Cas asked them cheerfully.

Cas explained to his wife and the Winchesters what had happened with Adrian in his office, and they were astonished. But then he also told them that the job was not yet done. They had to go back to Area 51, destroy the formula, and get whatever remained of Gabriel's essence so that they could return it to him.

Cas had laid Adrian's bloody arm on the library table as he spoke, and the sight of it there was starting to turn Sam's stomach. "Cas, can you - " he said, gesturing to the arm.

"What?" Cas/Gabriel said. "Is this bothering you, Sam? You remember you're a Hunter, right?"

Dean grinned. "He's right, Sammy. We've seen way more disgusting things than that."

"Dean, we eat here, sometimes," Sam pointed out.

Cas shrugged. "Fine. We'll get Gail to clean it up later. Quit being such a baby."

As Sam did a Dean-like double-take looking at Cas, Dean nudged his Angel friend. "I don't think I've ever felt closer to you than I do right now," he told Cas, smirking at Sam's expression.

Gail was watching this exchange curiously. There was something off here, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I trust you still have your ID badges that we wore to Area 51," Cas said to the brothers. As they nodded, he added, "We still have ours, too. We'll all change into our suits and put the badges on, like we did before."

Cas had picked up the bloody arm when Sam had seemed so upset to have it laying on the table, and he was unconsciously gesturing with it now as he spoke. Droplets of blood were spraying around from it, and one landed on Sam's computer screen.

"Dude! Come on!" Sam objected. "At least wrap that thing in something! God!"

Gail stood and brought Cas the towel she'd been using earlier to dry her hair. He took it from her, giving her a crooked smile, and began to wrap the arm in it. Gail waved her hands and produced the golden glow, cleaning the table underneath.

"Better?" Cas asked Sam, who was now looking at him as curiously as Gail had been. "Yeah," Sam said shortly.

"OK, Gail and I will go home and change, and we'll meet you guys back here in a bit," Cas said. He grabbed Gail's hand, then paused for a moment. He was more Gabriel than Cas right now, probably because an Archangel's essence was that much more powerful, and because Cas hadn't had much time to make the adjustment. He was supposed to wink them home now. Problem was, he had never been to Cas and Gail's house. He had even half-joked about them not inviting him for Christmas. To be honest, that had hurt his feelings a bit, although he guessed he could understand it. He hadn't always been the best of Brothers when it had come to Castiel. Gabriel had frequently insulted Cas and his human friends, and he'd sometimes messed with them simply for his own amusement. Then, he had disappeared for a few years. But that wasn't Castiel's fault. How was his Brother supposed to have known that the Army had decided to keep Gabe as their own personal pet, and essence dispenser?

Gail was looking at him now as if she suspected something. When he'd told them all about the altercation in the General's office, he had omitted the part about Castiel having had to ingest his essence there, at the end. Gabriel had just thought it might freak them all out, and besides, they would trust Cas more than they would him. And for his part, Cas was feeling a little bit guilty about it, for some reason. Gabriel had no way of knowing about the history that Castiel had hosting other peoples' essences, and the fact that it was a sensitive subject between him and Gail, still.

Cas reached out and brushed an errant lock of hair from Gail's forehead, enabling him to read the address from her mind. Then he winked them both there.

"Is it just me, or is Cas acting weird?" Sam asked his brother as they walked down the hallway towards their rooms to change.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, maybe a little. He's probably just pissed off that we didn't get all of Gabriel's stuff when we were there before. You can't really blame him. If they're using it to do things like that tsunami, we've gotta stop them before they do any more damage."

Sam nodded. He couldn't disagree with that. He had read too many conspiracy theories and seen too many movies to deny that the military frequently sought to weaponize these kinds of things. They might be in over their heads when it came to something like the essence of an Archangel, but he doubted they would let that stop them.

"Meet you back in the library in ten," Dean said to Sam, entering his room.

Nice house, Gabriel thought. He and Gail were in the bedroom, and she was going through the closet, looking for her suit. She had already taken his out and laid it on the bed.

"Do you remember where we put those ID badges?" he asked her. Gabriel wouldn't know, of course, and Cas honestly couldn't remember.

"I'm pretty sure I put them in the drawer of the nightstand," Gail responded. "Check the drawer of the one where Ralph is."

Ralph? Gabriel thought, puzzled. He looked at both nightstands. The one on the closet's side had a lamp, and a picture on it. He picked the photo up and looked at it. Castiel and Gail dressed up, standing in front of a fountain somewhere. Las Vegas, Cas told Gabe. Hmm. Nice.

He glanced over at the other nightstand, noticing the stuffed penguin leaning up against the lamp. Ohhhh. Ralph. "Cute," he said aloud. He popped himself over to the other side of the bed and opened the drawer, taking out the badges.

"Did you find them?" Gail asked him. She had stripped down to her bra and underpants, and she was taking a blouse off its hanger.

Gabriel popped himself back over to the other side of the bed, dropping the badges on top of his suit. He shouldn't be looking at her. He really shouldn't. But he couldn't help himself. He walked up to her and put his arms around her waist from behind.

"Cas, we don't have time right now," she said, smiling. She turned around, putting her arms around his neck. "I'll definitely take a rain check, though."

Gabriel started taking off Cas's shirt. OK. He had himself under control now. It was just that it had been so long for him, and she was so cute. But now, she moved forward and kissed his bare chest as he was taking his shirt off. He closed his eyes. Give him strength. Her lips were so soft, and her hair smelled so good. He held his shirt in one hand and pulled her to him with the other, kissing her on the mouth.

"Well, maybe we could take an extra couple of minutes," Gabriel murmured, starting to smile. That was probably all it would take, too.

"Or maybe I should just kick your Archangel ass, instead," Gail snapped. She grabbed the shirt out of his hand, holding it in front of her with one of her hands, and pushing him away with the other. "Or, better still, we'll wait until you're out of my husband, and then we'll give HIM the pleasure of doing it."

He stepped away from her, smiling sheepishly. "What gave me away?"

"I knew you were acting weird, even back at the bunker," she told him angrily. "But I thought for sure that Cas would have told me he had another man inside of him before he would let me undress in front of him."

"Come on, Kitten," Gabriel wheedled. "Don't blame Cas for that. It's just been so long since I've seen a beautiful woman undress."

"Don't give me that," she said, rolling her eyes. "Now, take your suit and your ID badge out to the living room and change. And I'd better not catch you looking at me again, or you won't have to worry about getting your essence back."

"Yes, Ma'am," he said, his eyes sparkling. Gabriel went to the bed and picked up his suit and ID badge. He looked down at the bed for a moment, imagining Castiel and Gail in it, tangling up the sheets. Castiel would be on top of her, ardently making love to her, and Gail would be crying out his name. Then the next moment, she would be the one who was on top, and Cas would be whimpering, vowing his undying devotion to her. How amazing that would be. Their Father had blessed Castiel indeed, probably much more than he deserved.

Gabriel popped Cas's vessel into the living room, and he began to change clothes.

Gail tossed her husband's shirt on the bed, shaking her head slowly. She guessed she couldn't be too mad at Gabriel. It had taken her longer than it should have to figure it out. But as soon as he had kissed her, she had known for sure. Nobody kissed like Cas. No one. Not that she ran around kissing a bunch of guys, of course. But still, she had known the difference immediately.

She put her suit on, her lips twitching. For some reason, she couldn't stay angry with Gabriel. She knew he hadn't meant any harm, and she was sure he wouldn't have actually followed through, even if she hadn't busted him.

She attached the badge to the jacket of her suit, checked herself in the mirror, and then popped into the living room. Gabriel was fully dressed, waiting for her.

Gail snapped her fingers exaggeratedly. "Darn it. Already dressed," she quipped. She smiled at him. "My husband always did look fantastic in a suit," she remarked.

"It's me, my love," Cas said. "Yes, Gabriel is still here too, but he has promised to let me drive right now, so to speak. He did want me to apologize to you for his behaviour, though. You have our word that he will not be making any further advances towards you."

She inclined her head. "Apology accepted. Now, let's get going. I want my husband back, one hundred percent of him. If Gabriel wants, we can fix him up with a nice female Angel after this is all over." She came forward and took Cas by the hand, winking them back to the bunker.

Cas unwrapped Adrian's arm from the towel and regarded it for a moment. The towel had absorbed the blood, so the limb was no longer actively bleeding. They would need to bring it, but they couldn't be too overt about it, not until they had gained access to the base. So he shoved the arm down the back of his pants, covering it with his suit jacket.

Dean looked at him incredulously, but Sam smirked. "I have so many what's-in-your-pants jokes running through my head right now, I don't even know what to do with myself," Sam wisecracked.

"So do I, but there's no time right now," Gail said, smiling. "Remind me later, and we'll write them all down."

"OK, let's go get those military asshats," Dean said. "Sammy and I went to the weapons room and restocked, so we're all set."

"How are we going to get in?" Gail asked aloud. "Even with our ID badges, how are we going to pass those checkpoints without an escort? We all know we can't just pop in."

"True. But I should be able to pop us to the first checkpoint, with the extra juice I have in me right now," Cas remarked. "After that, we'll just have to use whatever means we can."

So the Angels popped themselves and the brothers over to Checkpoint Alpha. Sam and Dean remained hidden while Cas and Gail used the two-finger system on the guards, incapacitating them. The Winchesters got into the guards' jeep as Cas opened the gate.

They crept quietly forward in the jeep, headlights off, until they got near the second checkpoint. Cas took Gail's hand, but she shook her head. She was starting to feel the effects of the sigils, already. They must have reinforced them, making them stronger than they had been the last time. Cas understood. He popped himself over to the guard booth and incapacitated the guards himself, then opened the gate for Dean to advance the jeep to the final checkpoint.

But by the time they got to the third checkpoint, Cas could feel the power drain out of him, and Gail was starting to feel extremely nauseous.

"I - can't - " Cas whispered, and the Winchesters nodded. They remembered what it had been like the last time.

Dean coasted the jeep closer to the booth at Checkpoint Charlie, then parked it. He gestured to the Angels to stay there. Then he nodded to Sam, and the two of them eased quietly out of the vehicle and moved stealthily towards the booth.

Sam picked up a couple of medium-sized stones and chucked them at the booth. A moment later, one of the guards came out to investigate the noise. When he did, Sam grabbed him from behind, stripping him of his weapon. He knocked the man on the head with the butt of the gun, and the guard fell to the ground, unconscious.

Dean had slipped into the booth in the meantime. He had the element of surprise, so he was able to overpower the guard easily and wrestle the firearm away from him.

Sam appeared in the doorway of the booth. "Let's go," he urged his brother. "Our companions are starting to feel really sick."

"Sorry, buddy. Nothing personal," Dean said to the guard. He wound up and punched the guy in the face, knocking him out.

Sam had brought the jeep up to the gate, and Cas and Gail were in the back, clutching at each other. "Please hurry," Cas pleaded. "We're not feeling very well."

That was an understatement, Dean thought. Their friends were pasty white and trembling, and Gail was holding one hand to her head. Cas had his arm around her, but he was shaking from head to toe.

It was clear that Cas would be in no condition to open the gate. "Get in and hang on, Sammy," Dean instructed his brother. Once Sam was seated next to him, Dean mashed the gas with his foot and rammed the gate with the jeep, busting it open.

They drove onto the grounds of the compound. Dean parked the jeep by the quonset hut and he and Sam and got out. They went to the back and helped the Angels out of the vehicle. The four of them entered the hut. Dean was holding Gail up, because her knees were buckling now. Cas and Sam had their arms slung around each other, like two mates reeling home from a night at the pub.

Sam brought Cas to the elevator, and his Angel friend reached into the back of his pants and took Adrian's arm out. He slammed the hand on the panel and waited for the elevator to work. But, nothing happened. He couldn't believe it. They had come all this way and done everything they'd done, and now they were going to be turned away, just when they were so close.

"It's not working!" Cas exclaimed, agonized. "Why isn't it working?" He slammed the hand on the panel again. Still nothing.

Sam took the arm from him and felt the hand, nodding. "It's too cold," he said. "The panel must be heat-sensitive."

"What?! Why?" Cas exclaimed. He was slumped against the wall now, clutching his stomach. He looked at Gail sadly. She had sunk to her knees now. "We have to do something, and quickly. Prolonged exposure to the ancient sigils can be fatal," Cas moaned.

"Great," Dean said angrily. "What the hell are we supposed to do now? We're screwed! Why is the stupid thing heat-sensitive?"

"To prevent against this type of scenario," Sam commented. His brow was furrowed in concentration. "If a high-clearance officer is killed, his blood will stop circulating, so the hand cools. So even if the sensor was able to recognize the palm print, the door won't work unless the hand is warm, meaning he has to be alive in order to call the elevator."

"Wait. I have an idea," Gail breathed. "Help me up," she said, clutching at Dean. He bent down and put his arms around her, helping her up off the floor. "Take me over to Cas," she instructed Dean.

She faced her husband. "Cas, I need you to let Gabriel come out, all the way," Gail said to him, "and then, I need you to kiss me."

"Uh...do you think you could pick a better time to do that junk?" Dean said, cocking an eyebrow at her.

Gail sighed, ignoring him. "Do you remember when you and I kissed when we got back from Heaven, when Lucifer was there? Do you remember what happened?"

Sam and Dean exchanged puzzled glances, but Cas smiled grimly. Gail's knees buckled again, and he moved forward quickly and caught her. He wrapped his arms around her. "I sure hope this works, Kitten. Otherwise, we're toast," Gabriel said softly. He kissed her on the mouth, and after a moment, his purple essence started to glow. It enveloped her lips, and then her face. Then it faded, and she broke the kiss, stepping away from him.

"Give me the arm, Sam. Quick," Gail said. He extended it to her, and she grabbed the General's hand with both of hers. She pressed her hands tightly on either side of it, and a moment later, a weak golden glow emerged. "That'll have to be enough. It's all I've got," she said wearily. "Put it on the panel, Sam."

Sam took the arm to the panel and pressed the hand to it, and the elevator door opened. The brothers helped the Angels into the elevator, and they took it downstairs.

The instant the door opened underground, Cas used the last ounce of his and Gabriel's combined strength to burst out into the corridor. He withdrew his blade from his jacket pocket and used it to scrape at the sigil that was closest to him, while Sam did the same to the one on the other side.

"Thanks, you guys," Gail breathed with relief. She gave Dean an appreciative squeeze, then stepped away from him tentatively. She smiled when she found that she was able to stand up on her own. It was funny how a few expertly-drawn red slashes of paint were able to make her and Cas so ill. Yeah. So funny that she'd almost died laughing.

Cas rushed to her side. "Are you all right?" he asked her. He held her gently by the upper arms, scrutinizing her face.

"Yes, I'm fine now, Cas," she replied. "How are you?"

"I'm all right too, my love. That was very quick thinking on your part," Cas remarked, and then Gabriel broke through for a moment. "And it was also the most action I've had in ages," he added, waggling one eyebrow comically. "Are you sure you don't want to trade up?"

"Shut up, Gabriel," Gail said with a half-smile. "As it is, when you come out of there, you're going to owe Cas an apology."

He shrugged. "Hey, at least I didn't slip you the tongue."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Umm...we just broke into a Top Secret military installation. Can you guys do your weirdo Angel crap on your own time?"

They moved as quietly as they could down the corridors towards the area where they remembered the lab to be. No one accosted them. In fact, the place seemed to be deserted. They exchanged puzzled glances. Where was everybody?

"Not that I'm complaining, but why is it so quiet?" Sam said softly.

Unbeknownst to the group, General Greene had had that entire wing cleared of soldiers. Only he, Generals Tanaka and Sizemore, and Doctor Exeter had remained. Adrian had wanted only the highest-ranking individuals present while the tests were going on. Loose lips sinking ships, and all that. But it had been a bad tactical move on his part. His two fellow officers were currently in the lab talking to Dr. Exeter, so there were only three obstacles in the quartet's way, and the Angels were back to full power now. This should be a breeze.

"Where is the General?" Dr. Exeter asked the Officers, his lips pursed in frustration. "He's late for his daily dose."

"I'm afraid he won't be coming," Cas said in a calm voice. The Generals and the Doctor looked towards the door of the lab, startled, and they were shocked when they saw who the intruders were.

Sam and Dean levelled the guns at them, and Cas and Gail had their blades drawn. They were taking no chances.

"You men know what we're here for," Cas told them. "We'll take whatever essence you have left, and then we'll be on our way. And, just so you know, we've breached the sigils, and I've already gotten some of my mojo back, courtesy of the late General Greene." Gabriel smirked. "So, you were right, he IS late. See what I did there?"

"There isn't any left," Dr. Exeter told him. "We used it all up, making the formula."

"Really?" Castiel said angrily. "Do you think I was born yesterday?" He strode up to the doctor and put one hand on the scientist's shoulder, slamming him down into a chair. He put his blade to the man's cheek, then pulled it down, creating a large gash on the doctor's face. "Care to try that answer again?"

"All right!" Dr. Exeter cried. "There's one tube left! It's in the fridge! I didn't need it anymore, because I was able to make up the formula based on the samplings that we already had."

"You're lying," Gabriel said aloud. "What are we gonna do, Castiel?"

"You know the answer to that question," Cas answered himself grimly. "Please go to the fridge and check, Gail."

She moved to the refrigerator and opened the door, rooting around in it. She pulled out a cylindrical tube filled with liquid. "That's all there is," she confirmed.

General Sizemore was edging closer to Dean now, but Dean saw the motion out of the corner of his eye. He swung the weapon he was holding in the man's direction. "Don't even think about it, Soldier Boy," he warned.

Sam was looking at Cas curiously. OK, so they had one tube of the stuff; so what? Even if they assumed that Dr. Exeter was telling the truth about that, and it was a big assumption, what about the formula he'd been talking about? And what about the fact that the guy knew how to make the stuff? If they left with that one little measly tube of Gabriel's essence, what was to prevent these men from starting the same crap all over again once they were gone?

Castiel knew that too, of course. He put his hand on the doctor's forehead now, searching his mind. He had been telling the truth about the single test tube of essence that Gail was currently holding in her hand. But he'd been lying about everything else. There were cases and cases of formula stashed in boxes in various places all over the compound, and just minutes before Cas and his group had gotten here, the Doctor had injected both of the Generals and himself with their first inaugural doses of the formula.

Gabriel removed his hand from the doctor's forehead. "You son of a bitch," he said softly. "You were gonna let us walk out of here with one little firecracker, while you have thousands of nukes all ready to go, right here at the base. What the hell is the matter with you people?" He sighed deeply. "Do whatever you have to do, Castiel."

Cas came back to the forefront now. "Keep an eye on these men. If one of them moves, shoot him in the kneecaps. I'll be right back."

He winked himself from room to room until he found the room where the MPs who had locked Sam and Dean up on their prior excursion here kept the handcuffs. He grabbed three pairs, then winked himself back to the lab.

The Doctor and the Generals were all still seated when Cas got back, but there was a fresh puddle of water on the floor beside them. "We'd better hurry this up, Cas," Sam said nervously. "When you were gone, there was a brief thunderstorm here in the lab, complete with thunder and lightning."

"Lucky I've got quick reflexes," Dean said, grinning weakly. He showed Cas the sleeve of his suit jacket. It was ripped open and, incredibly, it was smoking. "Lightning bolt," he said by way of explanation.

Cas gave one pair of handcuffs each to the brothers and kept one for himself. They cuffed the men to their chairs. Then the Winchesters looked at Cas. "What do we do now?" Dean asked him.

Before Cas had a chance to answer, the room began to shake violently. Glass beakers fell to the floor, smashing to bits, and the men had to grab onto the work table in the middle of the room to keep from being tossed to the floor.

Gail wasn't so fortunate. The only piece of furniture she had been near was the lab fridge. When the earthquake started, the refrigerator door flew open and its contents spilled all over the floor. Then the fridge itself was upended and went sliding over to the other side of the room. Gail could feel herself losing her balance, too. She dropped her blade and stashed the test tube in the most secure place she could think of. She went down to the ground, hard, and then she rolled to the other side of the room, right behind the fridge.

Cas dove for her as she went by, and he was able to grab her arm and pull her to her feet as the earthquake subsided.

"That's just the beginning," General Tanaka said. "Let us go, or you'll wish you had."

"Is that right?" Cas said, his eyebrows raised. Then Gabriel took over. "You, and what Army?" he wisecracked. Then: "Sorry, guys. I've just always wanted to say that." As the others looked at him, shaking their heads and rolling their eyes, Cas asked Gail, "Where's the tube?"

She gave him a faint smile. "I put it where I thought it might be the safest during the earthquake." She reached down her blouse into her bra and produced the test tube.

Cas's mouth dropped open. "Gabriel said to tell you he's got so many jokes in his head right now that you've literally rendered him speechless," he told her.

"Thank God," Dean said, rolling his eyes again. "So, I repeat: What the hell do we do now?"

"The only thing we CAN do," Cas said in a serious voice. He took the test tube from Gail's hand, uncorked it, and inhaled the contents as the others watched, shocked. Then he threw the test tube down on the floor and smashed it, like a football player might spike a ball in the end zone.

"Well, it's been real," Cas said sarcastically. He waved his hand once, and Dr. Exeter slumped in his chair, bleeding from his eyes and ears. Another hand wave, and General Sizemore died instantly of a massive coronary. Cas faced General Tanaka. "Any more threats?" he sneered.

"Please don't hurt me," General Tanaka pleaded. "I have a family."

"Yeah, well, so do I, you asshat," Cas retorted. He stretched out his hand and touched General Tanaka's head, frying his brain inside its skull.

Cas turned to Gail. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Kitten, but it had to be done." He waved his hand again, and suddenly, the four of them were outside, standing on a hillside about a mile from the base.

"This'll only take a second," Cas told his stunned companions. He stood looking towards the compound for a moment, then raised his arms like a conductor preparing the orchestra to start playing. Then he thrust his arms out towards the compound and sent fireballs down from the sky, one after another after another, until the entire aboveground camp was in flames.

"What about - " Sam started to say, but Cas held up his hand. "Patience is a virtue, Gigantor," he said, smirking. Then they heard a series of explosions, and Cas grinned. "Might be I saw a bunch of cases of high-powered explosives when I was down there looking for the handcuffs," he said smugly. "Don't you worry. There won't be any Eau de Gabriel going out on the market any time soon."

They all watched the conflagration wordlessly for another minute or so, and then Cas winked them away.

The argument began the instant they got back to the bunker.

"Call Gabriel," Gail said tersely to her husband.

"What's the matter?" he asked her. "Have a seat. Have a drink. In fact, I think we should all have one. We've had a very traumatic day."

"You took that stuff on purpose, didn't you?" she asked him, her voice raised.

"Of course I did," Cas replied. "It was the only way I was going to have enough juice to do what I needed to do. And it worked. Mission accomplished. Problem solved." He sat down at the library table and hooked another chair with his leg, putting his feet up on it. Then he looked at Dean. "Dean, would you be a lamb and get my wife a drink? She looks positively frazzled. No, wait a minute: what am I saying? Nobody even has to move." He snapped his fingers, and drinks appeared in front of them all. "Now THAT's what I'm talking about," Cas said, smiling. He looked around, gesturing with his hand. "Sit, sit. Please."

Gail was glaring at him. "I hate it when you get like this," she hissed. "Call Gabriel. Now."

Sam and Dean were looking at each other uneasily. When Cas got like this? They weren't really sure what Gail was talking about, but Cas was behaving like a bit of a dick now. Must be all that Gabriel inside of him. Once he gave it back, he would be back to normal. So they shrugged, sat down, and picked up their drinks.

But Gail was livid. She wasn't going to sit down and she wasn't going to have a drink until Cas did what he was supposed to do. What he'd promised he would do. She continued to glare at him.

Cas took a casual sip of his drink. "Have a seat, Gail. Here, sit next to me," he said, removing his feet from the chair and gesturing to it. "I won't bite. Well, not unless you want me to," he added, smirking again.

"Oh, my God!" she shouted, looking at the Winchesters. "Are you guys hearing this crap?"

The brothers were uncomfortable. On the one hand, they didn't want to get involved in a domestic dispute between their two Angel friends. But on the other hand, now that they looked at Cas more closely, the expression on his face was making them feel a little bit sick. They'd been down this road with him before, years ago.

"Yeah, man. Gail's right. Call Gabriel, give him back his stuff, and we'll all have a drink to celebrate a successful mission," Dean said to Cas uneasily.

"Did you see what I did back there?" Cas said to his friend. "Wasn't it amazing?"

Truthfully, Sam had pretty much known that it would have to end that way, but he had been a little shocked by the callous way that Cas had gone about killing those men. It had reminded him of the way that Cas had just snapped his fingers and exploded Raphael, that time he had ingested all of those souls to keep Crowley from getting his hands on them, and to get enough power to try to win the War in Heaven. Cas had that same look in his eyes now, half cold fish and half gleeful megalomaniac.

"If you don't call Gabriel in the next ten seconds, I will," Gail told Cas. She also didn't like the look on her husband's face. She didn't like it one bit.

Cas shrugged. "Fine. You call him, then. He likes YOU. I'll just sit here and finish my drink. Well, at least I'll be facing him on an equal footing, when he gets here." He grinned. "In fact, I'm probably more powerful than him, now. Won't that be nice, for a change. He might actually have to speak to me with respect, for once."

Gail's eyes narrowed. She turned on her heel and marched over to the stairs, then began to climb them.

"What are you doing?" Sam called to her.

"I need a breath of fresh air," she told him. "And I want to make sure Gabriel hears me, loud and clear." She stomped up the stairs and exited the bunker, slamming the door.

Sam's lips twitched. Gabriel had better come immediately, or the next person who was going to be in need of rescue was Cas.

Gail stood outside in back of the bunker, fuming. Sam and Dean didn't seem to get it. But then again, how could they? To them, Cas had never been a Demon. But when she'd looked at the arrogant expression on his face just now, that was all she'd seen. Because of the shared delusion that she and Cas had had, they were the only ones who knew what that was like. But Cas was more Gabriel right now than himself, which meant that he also had the ego of an Archangel. Maybe Gabe was the best one of the bunch, but he still thought he was better than any of them. Look at the way Gabriel had talked about Cas, when they'd first brought him to the bunker. Like Cas was an insignificant nobody. It made her blood boil. So now, Cas was feeling the power of an Archangel. In a way, who could blame him if he wanted to hang onto that feeling a little bit longer? He was right; what he had just done in Nevada HAD been amazing. Yes, he had killed those men coldly and perhaps unnecessarily cruelly, but would it have been more acceptable for them to have died in those fiery explosions? Before the year of the death squads, Gail would probably have been very upset by the manner of those men's deaths. But she was more of a realist now. As soon as they had made the decision to make that formula and inject themselves with it, they had pretty much sealed their fates. It was Cas that she was concerned about now.

Gail sent out the call to Gabriel, and he appeared immediately. She explained the situation to him as succinctly as she could, and he looked at her speculatively. "What are you not telling me, Gail?"

She heaved a deep sigh. "Never mind," she said. "You'll see." She touched his face for a moment. "Just do me a favour and try to be a little bit understanding about it, will you?"

Gabriel looked at her curiously for a moment. Then he took her hand from his face and snapped his fingers, winking them into the bunker.

In the few minutes that Gail had been gone, Cas had really started to worry Sam and Dean now. After his wife had stormed up the stairs, he drained his drink and smiled. "She's cute when she's angry," he'd commented casually. He snapped his fingers, and another drink appeared in front of him. Cas picked it up and looked at the brothers, raising an eyebrow. "Sexy, too. Maybe I'll encourage her to stay mad at me until I can get her alone."

"Come on, Cas," Dean said uncomfortably. "We don't want to hear about that kind of stuff."

"Fair enough," Cas said, nodding. He put his glass down and rose from his chair, stretching his body as if waking up from a particularly refreshing nap. "Boy, I feel great," he enthused. "What a terrific day!"

"Yeah, except for all those people who died in that tsunami," Sam said dryly.

Cas looked at him coolly. "Well, there's that," he acknowledged. "But still, I think it was a success, overall."

The brothers exchanged uneasy glances as Cas began to pace the floor. "So, help me out here, fellas," he said. "How do I convince my wife to let me keep it?"

"Keep it?!" Gail exclaimed. She let go of Gabriel's hand and rushed towards her husband. "You've got to be kidding me with this!"

"No, I'm not," Cas said to her. "You saw me back there. I was awesome. You can't tell me I wasn't. Wouldn't it be great if I had that kind of power all the time? I could vanquish all of our enemies with a single wave of my hand."

"Sit down," she said angrily. "You're vanquishing nothing."

Cas looked at Sam and Dean, grinning. "See? I told you. Sexy." Then he looked at Gabriel. "Hello, Brother. How's tricks?"

Gabriel was looking at Castiel with distaste. "Am I really this obnoxious?" he asked the Winchesters.

"Well, we weren't gonna say anything, but now that you've brought it up..." Sam said, his lips twitching.

Gail poked her husband in the chest. "Give it back to him," she instructed Cas. "Right now. All of it. Every drop."

He reached out his arms to embrace her, but she backed away from him. "Come on, Gail," Cas wheedled. "Why are you so angry? Why aren't you even looking at me?"

"BECAUSE YOUR EYES ARE PURPLE!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Cas paused in mid-reach, shocked to the core. Oh, God. My God. No wonder she was so upset. He saw the disappointment and reproach on her face. What was the matter with him? He was supposed to be better than that, now. He wanted to be better, for her, and for himself.

"I'm sorry, Gail," Cas said, anguished. "I'm so sorry. You're right. I'll give it all back, immediately. I never want to have purple eyes again."

Sam and Dean and Gabriel were all looking at each other, completely confused. Purple eyes? What the hell were those two talking about?

Gabriel strode forward. "You clearly have way too much of me in you, Brother," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "Let me help you with that."

He and Cas stood facing each other. Cas opened his mouth and released the purple smoke and Gabriel leaned forward, breathing it in. The process continued until Cas coughed out the last couple of puffs. Then he fumbled for a chair and sat down heavily, exhausted and overwrought.

Now it was Gabriel who was stretching his body to its full height. He patted his chest with both hands, breathing deeply. "Now, that's more like it," he commented.

"So you're back up to full strength, then?" Sam asked the Archangel.

Gabriel frowned. "Not quite. Since those five-star dicks took so much of it to do their experiments with, I'll never be back to full strength again. It's a real shame, too. I was hoping, once I got it back, that I'd be an equal match for Raguel. But there's no way I could beat him in a straight fight now." He smiled ruefully. "Hey, I might not even be able to beat Ammit. And, that other guy? Fugget about it," he said, affecting an accent.

"We'll back you, if it comes to a fight," Dean told him.

Wasn't he cute, Gabriel thought. Dean had no idea about the kind of power the Unholy Trinity possessed. But it was good of him to offer, anyway. Maybe Gabe had been a bit hard on these guys. "Thanks," he said simply.

Gail had drawn up a chair beside Cas, and she was touching him lightly now, attempting to comfort him. She knew what he was doing now; he was beating himself up.

Sure enough, he raised his eyes to look into hers. His beautiful, blue eyes. "I'm going to withdraw from the election," he said miserably.

"No, sweetie, please don't say that," Gail pleaded with him.

"Why not?" he said sadly. "This was my test, and I failed it. The spirit in black at Rudolph Valentino's grave said I would be tested by a danger from above, and from down below. The extreme weather was the peril from the sky, and those men and their plans were the peril underground. With all of your help, I did what had to be done, but I was prideful and arrogant about it. I let the power go to my head, once again. If I am God, I will have that kind of power, and more. I cannot be trusted with it."

"I don't agree," Gail said softly. "This wasn't the same thing. The essence you had in you wasn't you; it was someone else. It was like being under the influence of a drug, or something. And as soon as you realized that you were getting carried away, you checked yourself. That's real progress, as far as I'm concerned."

Cas smiled faintly. "I just didn't want you to shout at me anymore."

Gail smiled at her husband. He was joking now. She took that as a good sign. She picked up one of his hands and held it in hers. "When you're God, it'll be all you, sweetie. And look at how far you've come. I know you can handle it. You'll be a wonderful God."

He looked at her doubtfully. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know you, Cas," she said confidently. "You already know all the right things to do. All you have to do is just believe in yourself." Then she smiled. "And if you do get carried away, I'll just shout at you again. That should be enough incentive, right there. Who the hell wants to listen to THAT, all day?"

Cas smiled, opening his arms wide. "Please come here," he said. She got out of her chair and sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and they started to kiss.

Gabriel rolled his eyes, smirking. "Do they do that all the time?" he asked Dean and Sam.

"Yeah, pretty much," Dean replied. He was smirking, too.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and watch, I'd better get going," Gabriel said. He moved over to where Cas and Gail were, clearing his throat. They stopped kissing, but Gail stayed seated in her husband's lap.

"Thanks for the top-up, Brother," Gabriel said to Cas, extending his hand. Cas lifted Gail gently off of his lap and stood, taking the hand that Gabriel had offered him. "And, for the record, I think you'll make an excellent God, Cas," Gabriel added. "Your smart and very adorable wife is right. You just need to believe in yourself more. That's really all the mojo you need."

Then Gabriel smiled down at Gail. "It was good to see you again, Kitten." He looked at her chest, giving her a comic leer. "I'm sure I was well-cushioned in there. Thanks for the mammaries."

"I cannot believe you just said that," she said, trying not to smile. Then, she gave in and laughed. "I actually liked 'you and what Army', though," she told him. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear there was a little essence of my brother inside YOU." Impulsively, she moved forward and gave him a hug, and then he looked at Cas. "I'm sure you've heard this before, but you're one lucky son of a gun, do you know that?"

"Yes, I know that, Gabriel," Cas said, looking at Gail warmly. "I know that very well."

Gabriel released Gail from the hug and chucked her under the chin, then he looked at Cas again. "Knock 'em dead in Heaven, Boss," he said, grinning. Then he looked at Sam and Dean. "See you later, losers." Hey, he couldn't go too soft; he had a rep to maintain, after all.

Then Gabe snapped his fingers, winking himself away.


	2. Takin' Care Of Business

Chapter 2 - Takin' Care Of Business

Everything was silent for a moment, and then Dean yawned noisily. "Well, I'm gonna turn in. I need to sleep for about a day and a half. You guys gonna be here later?"

Cas and Gail exchanged a look. They had talked about this in Heaven, just before the crisis had come up.

Cas stepped forward as the brothers stood from their chairs, preparing to go to bed. "You probably won't be seeing much of us for a while," he told their friends. "I'm supposed to stop teaching at the Academy tomorrow, and Gail has to reconvene the board."

"Yes, and there's this little thing called an election we've got to prepare for," Gail added, smirking. "Not that that's anything important, of course. It's only to decide who's gonna be the next God. So, you know, no biggie."

Sam grinned. "How long is the elections process?" he asked curiously.

Gail made a face. "Believe it or not, it was Chuck's bright idea to have the stupid thing in November, just like here. And I don't know what I was on that day, but I agreed, and the motion carried. But that was back a ways. I didn't know at the time that both of us were going to be candidates, who also have full-time jobs." She sighed. "It's going to seem like forever till the fall."

"But we'll see you sometimes, right?" Dean asked them, with a tone of uncertainty.

"Of course you will," Gail assured him. "Jody's due in the fall, and if you think I'm missing that, you're crazy."

"Well, we wanted to get back out on the road, anyway," Sam said, nodding. "I was actually looking for cases when this whole weather thing came up, and I saw what looks like a vamps' nest in Wichita. We'll probably leave tomorrow."

"You were both wonderful today," Cas told them. "You helped to save a lot of people. I know we were only able to save a handful of people in Florida, but we were also all able to eliminate the threat. Who knows how many people might have died if those men had been allowed to continue with their experiments?" Then he smiled at the brothers sheepishly. "I'm sorry I behaved like a dick."

"Yeah, well, we know that wasn't you," Dean said. "That was Gabe. How you've kept yourself from punching his lights out all these centuries is beyond me."

Cas's smile widened. "Me too, Dean. Me too."

The two men embraced. "Please be careful out there," Cas said to his friend. "If you need us, please call. Any time." He came out of the embrace, smiling again. "Remember, I have Voice Mail now."

"Yeah. Now, we've just gotta get you to actually listen to it, once in a while," Dean grumbled good-naturedly.

"It's a work in progress," Gail said, coming forward for her hug with Dean as Cas moved on to Sam. She grinned at Dean. "If it's really urgent, you'll just have to bite the bullet and pray to us. I know how much you love to do that." She threw her arms around him. "Seriously, please do take care of yourselves, okay?" Gail said as she and Dean hugged.

"Always," Dean replied.

Then the process was repeated with Sam, and then the Angels winked themselves out of the bunker.

Gail walked around their house waving her arms, cleaning the rooms. They'd hardly even been there, so there wasn't much to clean, really. Just dust. But she needed something to do. There were tears standing in her eyes that she was trying not to shed.

Cas had watched her go from room to room for a bit, and then he sat down on the couch in the living room, waiting patiently. He recognized the struggle she was having. Truthfully, he was having one himself. They had been here on Earth for so long now, hanging around with their human friends and family, that it felt like a natural state of being for them. But they were Angels, not Hunters. They had important work to do in Heaven. But the adjustment would be hard on them both for a while.

Eventually, Gail ran out of steam, and then she ran out of rooms. She came back to the living room and sat down beside her husband on the couch. She sighed. "I don't know why I bothered, really. It'll just be dusty again, the next time we see it."

Cas took her hand. "I won't tell you not to be sad, because I feel sad, too. I will tell you that I love you, and that we will always have each other to lean on, when we're feeling down."

"I love you too, Cas," she responded. "And I love that you understand how I feel." She moved forward, and he took her in his arms, cuddling her. After a few minutes of being content just to be held, she disengaged herself gently from his arms. "So, what do you say? Do you want to pay Ralph one more visit before we pack our bags for Heaven?" Gail asked him, raising an eyebrow.

Cas looked at her. Pack their bags? His initial reaction had been surprise. But then, he thought about it. He supposed that made sense, really. They would be spending so much time in Heaven for the next while that it only made sense to move there, at least until everything was decided, one way or the other. Where in Heaven they would actually live remained the only question, but Castiel wasn't too worried about that. His status entitled him to take any quarters he chose. He would ask Gail what her preference was once they got there.

He winked her into the bedroom and onto the bed. They made love slowly, taking their time. Time was fluid in Heaven, but most of the Angels adhered to office hours, so they had a number of hours before their day jobs were due to start.

"Where are we going to live, once we get to Heaven?" Gail asked Cas now. He was lying on his back, and she was kissing his stomach.

It was becoming difficult for Cas to concentrate, but he said, "Where would you like to live? I don't care. Wherever you want." Suddenly, she took him in her mouth, and he gasped. "Anything you want, my love."

She was too busy doing what she was doing to respond for the moment, and truthfully, she was hoping that Cas would also be unable to converse in a minute, anyway. If she was doing this right, he should be inarticulate for the forthcoming few moments.

His hands flew to her head, and she took that as encouragement. So she sped up, and now, Cas had no words at all, just sounds to make, to let her know how good it was.

Once Cas calmed down, Gail climbed up his torso and laid on top of him with her head on his chest, listening to his heart, hammering in his chest. It was funny how they didn't seem to think of their bodies as vessels any more. Hopefully, the way they behaved with each other wouldn't cost them too many votes in Heaven, she thought. She gave Cas a chance to get his breath back, and then she voiced the thought aloud.

His arms tightened around her. "If anything, I would think that demonstrating our love for each other would garner us even more votes," Cas commented softly. Then he smiled. "After all, what's better than a good love story?"

Gail kissed his chest, and then she raised her head to look at him. "You'd better not let Dean hear you say something like that," she teased him. "That would be just the excuse he needs to call you a woman."

"Maybe I should try to access my feminine side," Cas responded, his lips twitching. "Riley does want me to appeal to women's groups, doesn't he?"

"Well, can you do me a favour and wait about an hour before you turn into one? I'm not quite done with you here as my husband, yet," she retorted with a smile.

"I was hoping you would say that," Cas told her, raising an eyebrow. And there it was; that eyebrow raise. Gail wondered if he had any idea of the effect that one little gesture had on her. He probably did, and that was why he did it.

Cas rolled her over onto her back. "Where would you like me to start?" he asked her, smiling lazily.

An hour or so later, they'd showered and packed a couple of bags each with changes of clothing.

"I had an idea," Cas told her, snapping his suitcase shut. "If you have no objection, I thought that we could move into Matthew's old Honour Suite. It's one of the nicest apartments in Heaven. It comes fully furnished, and it's located in the Executive residential wing, which is very near your office, the boardroom, and the Academy."

Gail smiled. "You sound like a real estate agent. Sure, that's fine with me."

"Depending on what happens in the fall, I think it'll make a good temporary home for us," Cas went on. "It's really just a place to rest once in a while, anyway. I expect we'll be keeping some long hours for a time."

"As long as it's got you, and a comfortable bed, it'll be just fine," she said, putting her arms around his neck.

But Cas was frowning now. He'd just thought of something. "What is it, sweetie?" she asked him.

"I forgot," he replied. "I'm not the highest-ranking Angel anymore; I'm the second-highest. According to protocol, I must ask Gabriel if it's all right for me to take it."

"Oh," she said. "Well, ask him, then. I doubt he wants to live in Heaven, but if that's protocol, I guess we'd better follow it." She thought for a moment. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we invite him here, so you can ask him in person?"

"Here?" Cas asked, puzzled. "Why here?"

Gail shrugged, avoiding her husband's gaze. "Because I may have read his thoughts outside a certain bunker just recently, and discerned that his feelings are hurt that we've never invited him here."

And it was true. When she and Gabriel had been having their little chat out there right before Gabe had taken his essence back, Gail had tried Cas's trick. She had told Gabriel he had an errant lock of hair, then reached up to touch his forehead.

She'd never done the mind-reading thing before; although she could now modify memories, Gail had never had occasion to visit anyone's thoughts like this before. And she had picked one hell of a mind, for her first excursion. Gabriel's mind looked like a funhouse at a carnival. There were clowns and balloons and funny-looking mirrors in the vestibule. She walked down the hall and opened the first door she came upon. Crap! Gabriel was in there on a round, revolving bed, with two buxom, scantily-clad women. And a banner reading "Casa Erotica" was the only thing he was wearing. Yikes. She backed out of there quickly, then rushed down the corridor. She didn't have much time. She opened another door and saw a room that was stacked high with TVs, each one showing a different genre of program. But what was really odd was that Sam and Dean and Cas were the stars of all the shows. They were cowboys, doctors, and soap opera stars. They were even on a cheesy Asian game show, on one of the TV sets. What the hell? She shook her head vigorously, then shut the door. She would definitely have to remember to ask Cas about THAT.

But then, she'd come upon the next door, the one that showed all of them at Cas and Gail's house sitting around the dinner table, drinking wine and laughing as Cas carved the turkey. Gabriel was outside standing in the snow, looking in on them through the window, and a single tear was running down his cheek.

And that had been it. She'd closed the door softly, frowning. Then she had gazed down the hall for a moment. She wished she had the time to look in some more doors. Maybe then, she'd understand their Brother a little more. Gail had the feeling that Gabriel wasn't as much of a jerk as Sam and Dean seemed to think he was. When she had quipped to the Archangel that it appeared as if he might have some Frank in him, she'd realized that might not be far off the mark. Her brother frequently used irreverent homour to mask his pain. And now that she'd seen that little Christmas tableau, Gail had decided that she would take the first opportunity she could get to make amends.

It was a shame that she had not taken the time to open the next door, where she would have seen a man that she would have known to be an Archangel, because she would have sensed his immense power, sitting chatting with the mother of the King of Hell, and Rowena calling him Raguel. And had Gail seen that, the whole mess that happened later on might have been avoided.

But Gail withdrew from Gabriel's mind before that could happen, not wanting to stay too long and risk discovery. So she had removed her hand from his forehead, and then they had winked into the bunker.

Cas called Gabriel on Angel Radio as Gail had requested, and a few minutes later, there was a knock at the front door. Gail looked at Cas, bemused. He went to the front door and opened it, and Gabriel stood there, wearing a blazer over his shirt and jeans. Just like Cas. How cute was that? And he was holding a bouquet of flowers, and a bottle of wine.

"Welcome to our home," Cas said, opening the door wide. Gail had told him about her little foray into Gabriel's mind, and Cas had promised her that he would dust off his old-world manners for their Brother. Truthfully, Cas had been astonished that she had been able to enter Gabriel's mind so easily. He knew that had been her first time, and to have penetrated an Archangel's mind so effortlessly? Either he had underestimated the extent of his wife's power yet again, which was distinctly plausible, or Gabriel had known what she was doing, and he had let her in. And Cas loved his wife more than anything, but he was pretty convinced that the latter scenario was more plausible. The question was: why? Was it to manipulate her by making her feel sorry for him? Or was Castiel just being paranoid, because of his and the Winchesters' checkered past with his Brother?

Gabriel stepped into the house. He handed the flowers to Gail, and the bottle of wine to Cas. "I know, I know, you don't drink," he said to Castiel.

Gail smiled the flowers. "Well, I do, so come on in and we'll have a glass," she said, hooking her arm through Gabriel's. "And thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."

Gabriel shrugged. "Hey, I was brought up with manners. Not like some people. I have never been offered a drink at any place I've visited on Earth. Never."

"Well, you're going to have one here, with us. I'm not inviting, I'm insisting. Please, sit down," she told Gabriel, gesturing to the couch. "Open the wine," she instructed Cas, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm going to take these flowers up to my office and put them in the vase on the coffee table. I'll be right back." Then she promptly winked out.

"God, she's cute," Gabe remarked, sitting on the couch.

Cas regarded him. "What are you up to, Gabriel?"

The Archangel looked at him innocently. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Don't give me that," Cas snapped. "There's no way Gail penetrates your mind that easily if you don't let her in."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "OK, OK. But just to let you know, it didn't take much. She's got a lot more juice than I would have thought. I was pretty impressed, actually."

"The question is: why?" Cas asked him, narrowing his eyes.

Gabriel sighed. "I just wanted her to see that I'm a good guy at heart. I'm sure your Winchesters have filled her head with all kinds of negative things about me."

"Actually, as far as I know, they haven't said much of anything, one way or the other," Cas said thoughtfully. Then he smiled. "But, if you know my wife, you know that she has a mind of her own. If Dean or Sam did say anything negative to her about you, she would be just obstinate enough to bend over backwards to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Gabriel smiled too. "And what about if YOU were to say anything negative about me?"

Cas sighed. "The same."

Gabe laughed. "Well then, that makes me respect her all the more. I never believed in that 'women should be seen and not heard' crap, anyway. I always liked a strong woman."

"Well, you've come to the right place," Cas remarked. He and Gabriel looked at each other, and then they laughed together. They were still laughing when Gail popped back in.

She looked at Cas. "I thought you were going to open the wine," she said to him. "Let's go. We don't have all night."

The men looked at each other again, and again, they laughed. "I told you so," Cas remarked. He went into the kitchen to get the corkscrew.

The three Angels sat down and had a glass of wine together, and Castiel told Gabriel what he had in mind.

"Take it, Castiel," Gabe said, waving his hand expansively. "Don't worry about me. I have no interest in living in Heaven. Besides, I'd better hang around Earth, at least until I can figure out if Raguel is onto something. You know, he might not even be seriously looking for those Books, after all. It looks like he's found himself a girlfriend."

"A girlfriend?" Castiel echoed dubiously. "Raguel?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Why not? You did." He looked at Gail. "And you did a mighty fine job of it, too."

Gail lifted her glass to him, smiling in appreciation. "Thanks for that. And thank you for this, too. Just do me a favour and promise me you'll come to Heaven in November, and cast your vote for my husband."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. You didn't ask me to vote for you."

She continued to smile. "Since we're all family here, I'll tell you what you probably already know: I'm never going to get elected. I'm just on the ballot to lure the female votes away from Patricia. Or, the people who want to vote for a female, I should say. You know what I mean."

Gabe made a face, nodding. "Oh, yeah. We don't want Ms. Frosty Box running Heaven. You guys would probably be prohibited from even holding hands, let alone doing anything else."

Gail snickered. "You're terrible," she remarked.

"But I'm not wrong, am I?" he said.

Cas sighed. "No, you're not. That's why Gail and I are both campaigning, along with Bobby."

Gabe drained his glass, then stood. "OK, you guys had better get going, then. Press that flesh, Castiel. Kiss those babies. No way I'm ever coming up there again if Patricia wins. Thanks for your hospitality. We'll talk soon." Then he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Cas and Gail looked at each other. "That was a good visit," Cas said to his wife. There was a tone of surprise in his voice. "And it's all because of you. He and I have never gotten along this well."

"I'm glad," she responded. "I think he just needs to feel included. We'll have him here next Christmas. With their senses of humour, he and Frank will get along like a house on fire, if they don't drive us crazy in the process. And I'll get him and Sam and Dean all liquored up and give them a subject in common, and they'll be best buddies by the end of the night."

"Or, Gabriel will zap them both into the New Year," Cas said dryly.

Gail smirked. "Either way," she quipped, and Cas laughed, taking her hand. "I love you very much," he told her.

"I know," she said pertly. "Now, let's get going. I want to unpack our bags before we have to start work in the morning."

They had gotten settled in Matthew's suite, and they were currently in Cas's office at the Academy, waiting to open the doors the agreed 15 minutes prior to class.

Cas was shaking his head with wonder. Every time he thought his wife couldn't surprise him anymore, she managed to do just that. The instant he'd opened the door to the suite and brought the bags into the living room, Cas had unconsciously looked down at the spot where he and Bobby had discovered Matthew's body.

"I hope someone cleaned the carpet," Gail said from behind him.

Cas could have kicked himself. He had simply suggested this suite due to its location, and because it was the only existing place that he knew to be vacant that he felt was good enough for Gail. But it was the reason for its vacancy that he should have been more sensitive to.

He dropped the bags and wheeled around, taking her in his arms. "I'm so sorry, my darling," he told her. "I didn't think. We'll go somewhere else, immediately."

Gail touched his face. He was so sweet. "No, it's OK, Cas. I know that you and Bobby found Matthew's body here. I remembered, when you first brought up the idea. If it bothered me, I would have told you then. As long as it doesn't bother YOU. You knew him, and you were the one who found him here. So the question is, are YOU okay with it?"

Cas thought about that. He'd been so worried about her feelings that he hadn't stopped to consider his own. But that had been a number of years ago, now. In a lot of ways, it felt like a lifetime.

"You're a remarkable woman," he said to her. "I'm fine, my love. In fact, as long as I have you, I'm fantastic."

She kissed him on the lips. "You certainly are. But you can quit sucking up. I'll unpack for us both." She gave him a squeeze, then moved to pick up the bags, taking them through to the bedroom area.

Cas shook his head, smiling. He looked up at the large picture-sized mirror that hung on the wall above the fireplace. Yes, there was an actual fireplace in the living room area, across from the couch. Matthew had been an older gentleman, of course, who had liked his creature comforts. Many was the time that he had had a log fire burning in the fireplace when Castiel had come here for their evening chess match and conversation. Thinking of that still hurt a little, but now that some time had elapsed and Lucifer was gone, Cas found that he could let it go.

It had not occurred to Gabriel to tell Castiel and Gail that Raguel had been meeting with Rowena the witch, because he honestly thought that the two of them were meeting because they were romantically involved. An Archangel and a witch might seem like a strange combination, but Gabriel had seen stranger, in all his centuries of existence. And it also hadn't occurred to him to tell them, or perhaps he had forgotten, that the mirror in Matthew's suite was enchanted. These omissions were not malicious in nature, by any means, but they would result in some interesting consequences.

Several hours later, Gail was in Bobby's campaign office. She and Cas had waited in his office until 15 minutes before class was scheduled to start, and then they had walked hand in hand out of his office to the floor area. Gail could feel the nervousness coming off her husband in waves. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll pop over and get Bobby, and we'll be right back," she told him. They'd talked about it, and agreed that she and Bobby would come to the first class as a show of support and solidarity, and they also wanted to send a not-so-subtle message to the cadets by not including Patricia.

As Cas opened the doors to admit Riley and about a dozen eager students, Gail was talking to Laurel while Bobby was shutting off his computer.

"I wanted to ask you personally if you're interested in taking the seat on the board that Patricia has vacated," Gail said to Laurel. "We're having the first meeting in an hour, but I realize it's short notice, so if Bobby can't spare you, I'll make sure to print you up a schedule. That's if you say yes, of course."

Laurel stared up at her in surprise. Then she started to smile. She had always liked Gail, and this was one reason why. Laurel liked Castiel's wife because Gail seemed to make no distinction between the person who was sitting in the office, and the support person who was sitting in front of it. Even back when Laurel had been God's receptionist, a role she was hoping to fill again in the future, Gail had always treated her with respect and dignity. When the new laws had been passed, Gail had invited Laurel into the boardroom to partake in the celebration, announcing Laurel as having been a very important member of the team. And Chuck spoke very highly of both Gail and Cas. Plus, the best part of all was that the couple and Bobby were all still friendly with each other, even though they were all vying for the High Office. That spirit of friendship and cooperation spoke volumes to Laurel, and it was diametrically opposite to the closed and secretive way that Patricia's campaign office was being run. Laurel had popped in to ask if she could use their photocopier a couple of days ago when hers had jammed, and she had been shooed angrily out of the office, as though she was a spy, or something.

"I would be honoured," Laurel said to Gail, smiling warmly. She raised her voice. "Bobby, can you spare me to go to the meeting?"

He rushed out of his office. "What are ya asking me for?" He looked at Gail. "Laurel rules the roost around here. We just pretend it's the other way around." Then he had looked at Laurel. "Of course you should go, if you wanna go. Don't worry about things here. I appreciate your help, Laurel, but I don't want to hold you back."

She beamed. "Thank you, Bobby. Oh, you'd better lock your office. Remember, we talked about that?"

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I don't wanna start up with that paranoid stuff, Laurel."

"Well then, humour me," she said patiently.

Bobby frowned, but he went back into his office. "I put the key in your top right-hand drawer," Laurel called after him.

Gail's forehead wrinkled. "What was that all about?"

"I was going to mention it to you and Cas too, but this is the first time I've seen you," Laurel replied. "A couple of days ago, I caught somebody from Patricia's campaign team in Bobby's office, when he was out. They said they were lost, but I don't believe it."

Gail was appalled. She hated to think that things had come to that. But she thanked Laurel for the warning, and told her that she would pass it along to Cas.

Bobby came out again, pulling the door shut behind him and locking it. He was scowling. But then he looked at Laurel, and his expression softened. "I'll see you later, dear. You know where we'll be if you need to get a hold of us."

Laurel nodded. "I do. Please congratulate Cas for me. I know he'll be a great teacher."

Gail smiled. "Do me a favour? Tell him that, the next time you see him. I know Angels don't throw up, but he was looking a little green this morning."

"That's why we're going there now, to lend him our support," Bobby added. "If one of those young kids gets out of line - "

"Bobby's like the Principal of the Academy," Gail joked. "Now let's get going, already! We're five minutes late, as it is."

"Oh, and don't forget, you have that meeting with the Heavenly Hostesses at eleven o'clock," Laurel said to Bobby.

Despite her sense of urgency, Gail paused. "The who?" she asked Laurel, puzzled.

"The Heavenly Hostesses," Laurel repeated. "One of the women's groups. I booked Bobby to give a speech there. Riley told me he's booked Cas for right afterwards. Maybe you want to check with Liz on that. They're a very influential group. Just because you're a woman, I wouldn't take for granted that they're in your corner. I know Patricia has already talked to them. Maybe you should see if you can fit them in today, give them a few words at the same time as Cas. You don't want to be the only one who hasn't spoken to them. Anyway, it's just a thought. Check with Liz. I know she's been eager to see you."

Wow, Gail thought. The Heavenly Hostesses. Where did she even begin? Did they serve tea and cucumber sandwiches at their meetings? Should she invest in a pink suit with white gloves and a pillbox hat, maybe? Yikes. Oh, well. One thing at a time. She thanked Laurel and put her hand on Bobby's arm, winking them over to the Academy.

Thirty-five Angels, Cas was thinking to himself. Thirty-five mostly young, fresh-faced cadets, standing there in rows, looking at him expectantly. Thirty-five. He just couldn't get over it. He wondered what Stu the numerologist would do with that number. And Riley had told Cas that because they had capped the number, there were many, many more on a list, waiting to gain admission.

It had been agreed that he was going to give a bit of a talk to the cadets first, welcoming them, and then he and Riley were going to pair them off and see which of them had the most potential, and which ones would need extra coaching.

The idea had all sounded so good in principle, but now that they were all here, looking at him, Cas's throat dried up, and he couldn't think of a single word to say. He looked at Bobby, who gave him a subtle thumbs-up. Many of the cadets remembered Bobby as God, and even those who didn't regarded him as an authority figure. But he'd told Cas that he had only agreed to come this morning for moral support. This was Cas's show, to run however he saw fit.

Then Cas looked at his dear, sweet wife. She had her own business to take care of shortly, but she had made sure to be here for him, as always. She knew how nervous he was, and she could tell that he was faltering now. So she stepped forward and took his hand, facing the class.

"Welcome to the Angel Academy," Gail said to the students. "You all know Castiel, if not personally, then by reputation. Go ahead and say a few words to your students. Tell them what your vision is for the school, and a bit about your background."

Cas smiled at her gratefully. He gave her hand a squeeze. Then she stepped back, and he faced the class again.

"Whomever is taking this class with a true intention to learn how to fight, you must be made aware of the sort of danger you could be facing," Castiel said in a formal, stilted manner. Now he could see trepidation and doubt on many of their faces. His heart sank. This was not how he'd wanted to start off, although Cas felt it was a very important message to convey.

He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then he smiled, and as soon as he did, the cadets visibly relaxed. Pamela's knees went a little weak. Wow. She wondered if he had any idea how his face transformed when he did that.

"When my wife and I were discussing what I might say to all of you today, she told me I shouldn't lead with that. And, as usual, she was right," Cas said, looking at Gail warmly. Some of the cadets smiled tentatively. "But I do want to speak with all of you honestly, because I have learned that open and honest communication builds trust," Cas continued. He sighed. "In the older days, the days of the Angel Wars, I was merely a soldier, one of the many rank and file. We were all given assignments as part of the great war machine, and we were instructed never to question any of our orders. But, as many members of my garrison fell and I rose through the ranks, I did start to question what we were doing, and why. I was censured for doing so, brainwashed into thinking that I was serving Heaven. I regret many things that happened back then." He paused, then went on: "When we first established this Academy, there was some talk about making attendance mandatory. But I disagreed. It took me centuries, but I finally found out that there's a better way. It's called Free Will. You can still do your duty while making choices that are right for you, and that are the right things to do. The two viewpoints aren't mutually exclusive. Free Will and duty can be the same thing, if they're the right thing."

Cas paused again. Then he said, "I probably shouldn't say this next thing, but if you know my reputation, you'll know that I don't always do what I should." He smiled again, and Pamela started to feel a little warm. This was going to be a fun assignment.

"There has been a lot of rhetoric going around in Heaven lately," Castiel said. "I've heard that prejudice against humans is being talked about in certain circles in Heaven, and I won't have any part of that. You are all aware that there are four candidates for the High Office, and you can see that there are three of us here, only. You can all do the math."

Gail pursed her lips for a moment, glancing sideways at Bobby. Crap. Cas had gone rogue. She and Bobby had told him they thought it was a bad idea to bring politics into the Academy. But Cas had a point to make, and he was determined to make it.

"If any of you feel that way, you can get out, right now," Cas said bluntly. "Humans are our friends, and our allies. My human friends and family have helped us immeasurably. Just recently, two of the strongest and bravest men I know helped us to vanquish Lucifer, at the greatest possible personal risk. In fact, one of them made the ultimate sacrifice. So if I catch anyone in my class talking nonsense about humans somehow not being as good as we are, or any of that kind of garbage, they will be expelled immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir," quite a few of the students murmured. They were exchanging surreptitious glances now. The ultimate sacrifice? Did that mean what they thought it meant?

Now, Cas paused again. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. He looked at Gail. She was careful to keep the expression on her face neutral, but he was pretty sure that she didn't approve.

When they'd talked prior to his opening the doors this morning, he had been extremely nervous.

"Maybe no one will come," he'd said to her.

Gail had been sitting on the edge of his desk, facing him. She'd kicked off her shoes and put her feet in his lap, trying to playfully distract him from his nerves. Cas had absently stripped her socks off, and he was massaging her feet. She had been just about to joke that he was either going to have to stop that, or hang a sign out saying that class was cancelled, when he'd said that.

She looked at him with sympathy. "You know that's not going to happen," she told him firmly. "Riley told you they're practically beating down the doors. You'll be great, Cas."

"I'm not a very good speaker," Cas fretted. "It took years and years for me to learn how to communicate with Sam and Dean."

"Just stick to the basics, and you'll be fine," Gail had reassured him. "No politics, and no scaring them, at least not on the first day. I'm sure that most of them will be young, and they'll be intimidated by you."

He had still looked a little uncertain, but he'd smiled then. "Thank you for your confidence in me, and your wonderful support. It means everything to me, my love." Then he had lifted each of her bare feet to his lips in turn and gently kissed them, and Gail had just about melted right off the desk. Then she did make her quip about closing the school for the day, and Cas had thrown his head back and laughed, telling her he was sorely tempted to do just that. Then he had reached for her socks and put them back on her feet, heaving a comically heavy sigh.

But now, as Cas looked at the young Angels, he froze. He'd done the very things that Gail had admonished him not to do: he had talked about politics, and now he had been so stern in his opinions that he had scared and intimidated them. He was staring at all those young faces. He had been built up as a hero to them, but he didn't feel like one right now.

Gail came forward again, taking his hand. "Excuse us for a minute," she said to the students, and then she couldn't resist adding, "Riley has a couple of good jokes he can tell you." Then she popped Cas into his office.

"I'm not sure I can do this, Gail," Cas pleaded with her. "I told you I'm not very good at this sort of thing. They're all looking at me like I'm some kind of a hero, or something."

Gail put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "That's because you ARE a hero, sweetie. And really, this modest act is wearing a bit thin. I think you're just fishing for compliments now." She smiled, to let him know that she was teasing. "Now get out there, and take charge. Run the class your way, Cas. We're backing you, no matter what."

"You must think I'm silly," he said, putting his arms around her waist.

"Not at all," Gail replied. "The first board meeting I chaired, I was the same way. Everybody sat there looking at me, and I couldn't even form a complete sentence. And you know how much I love to talk, so that'll tell you how nervous I was."

Cas started to smile, but then he stopped. His heart hurt for her. That was during the time that they had been separated. How he wished he could have been there for her then, giving her the same kind of sweet and loving support she was giving to him now.

Cas squared his shoulders. He didn't want to let her down. If Gail thought he was a hero, then a hero, he would try to be. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and then he winked them back into the gymnasium area.

Riley had indeed been talking to the students, and they were looking somewhat more relaxed now. Castiel gave him a nod of appreciation, and the young Angel stepped back respectfully.

Cas faced the cadets again. "My apologies," he told them. "As you can plainly see, public speaking is not my strong suit. But you're not here for speeches, you're here to be trained how to fight. And that, I can definitely do. But I don't want to sugar-coat things. The bottom line, as my dear friend Dean Winchester would say, is that if you're reluctant to put your life on the line to defend a principle, you should leave, now."

All but one of the cadets stood there stoically. But one very nervous-looking young Angel stirred, and made to leave. "Where do ya think you're goin'?" Bobby barked at the young Angel. "Get back in formation!"

The young Angel opened his mouth as if he were going to speak. Then he looked closely at Bobby's face, and closed it with a snap. He moved back to where he had been standing.

Gail averted her head to keep from bursting out laughing at the young man's scared expression. She had seen that same expression on Sam and Dean's faces many times, when Bobby had admonished them for one thing or another. And this particular young Angel looked extremely young. Holy moly. How young could he be? Sixteen? He was gangly, with red hair and freckles. If Dean was here, he'd probably be calling him "Opie". Wow. How old did Gail feel, right now? These guys - and there were three girls, too - looked like teenagers to her. Yikes.

Bobby was still looking at the young Angel as if waiting for him to make a break for it, but his expression softened a little. "At least take one class before you quit, Son," Bobby said to him. The young Angel nodded, but he still didn't speak. Then Bobby looked at Gail, clearing his throat. He looked at the watch he was wearing, and she was startled. Was it time to go, already?

"Go ahead, Bobby," she murmured softly. "I want to talk to Cas for another moment."

Bobby said goodbye to everyone and popped out, and Gail touched Riley's arm. "I'm going to borrow Cas for a minute and then I'm going to leave, so you can go about your business."

"Can a few of you help Riley put the mats down on the floor?" Cas said to the cadets.

"Sure, Cas," Riley said eagerly. "And I'll get the weapons out of the cabinet, too."

"Just the simulated weapons for now, please," Cas said with a faint smile. Then he took Gail's hand, and they popped into his office again.

"I really have to go," Gail said. "I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you." She touched his face. "Once you get them on those mats, you'll be just fine. Just remember: you trained me, and if you can work with such a problem student, you can work with anyone." As he smiled, she added, "But seriously, did you notice how young most of them are?"

"I was trying not to think about that," Cas responded, his lips twitching. "Perhaps I will need those glasses, after all."

Gail laughed. She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "I thought that poor guy was going to faint when Bobby barked at him like that."

Cas was bemused, but he said, "I'll have to have a talk with him, in private. I appreciate what Bobby was trying to do, but I'd better find out where his head is at, as the saying goes. If he truly does want to leave, I won't stand in his way. I don't want anyone to stay because they feel intimidated into it, Gail. They should be here because learning how to fight is the right thing to do, not because Bobby or I say so. If I'm going to preach Free Will here, I'd better practice what I preach."

Gail was looking warmly at her husband. "Just when I think I couldn't possibly love you any more, it turns out that I can." She put her arms around him, kissing him on the mouth. "I've got a board meeting to get to. 'Later, Professor Castiel." Then she popped out, as Cas smiled.

Sam was sitting on the bed in his and Dean's hotel room, reading. He'd already had his shower, and Dean was in there now. They'd taken care of the vamp's nest very easily. Sam guessed that once you'd faced down Lucifer himself and beat him, a bunch of fang-bangers were tame by comparison.

His cell phone rang. He put the book down and picked up. "Hey, Sam." It was his FBI contact, the one he had left Oliver's journal with. "I've got some good news and some bad news," Thane continued. "Which do you want first?"

"The good news," Sam replied. "Always, the good news."

"We found part of the journal," his contact said. "And it's been un-redacted, so it's ready to read. But the bad news is that it's only a few pages. The pages all came loose from the book's bindings, and we don't know exactly where the rest of them are. But hey, at least you've got a few, to start with. My guy feels really bad about it, so he told me he's going to work through his breaks to try to find the rest of them."

Sam was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "Did you read any of it? Is there anything to be concerned about in there?"

Thane frowned. "You know what, Sam? It's kind of hard to say. The guy who wrote it talks about him and his two brothers, growing up. And I gotta tell you, it's a pretty compelling read. Almost like a Stephen King book. The youngest brother is schizophrenic, by the looks of it, and the middle brother has all the makings of a serial killer."

Sam's blood ran cold. "Can you hang onto those pages for me? Dean and I are out of town right now, but I'll swing by when we get back."

He hung up the phone and sat there, thinking. Dean came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. "Earth to Sammy," he said. "Who was that on the phone?"

Sam told him about the journal, and Dean dropped the towel on the floor, pulling on his shorts with one hand and opening a beer with the other. He'd gotten to be an expert at that by now.

"Betcha a million bucks the serial killer's her dad," Dean said with sharp insight.

Sam looked at him, startled. His brother could very well be right. "That would make Oliver her uncle," he commented. "But why wouldn't he just tell her that he was her uncle, then?"

Dean shrugged. Who knew? Considering the fact that Oliver was a ghost, Sammy probably shouldn't expect anything to be normal about the situation. "I wonder if we should tell Gail," he mused aloud.

"Why don't we wait until we get a look at what he's got?" Sam suggested. "By the time we get back, he might have more pages. Cas and Gail just got back to Heaven, and they've got a lot going on right now. We should probably just wait."

Dean nodded, taking another pull on his beer. "What's on TV?" he asked his brother.

Gail looked around the boardroom table. "It's good to see so many familiar faces here," she said. "The Three Musketeers ride again, I see."

Chuck was sitting across the table from Ethan and Kevin. The three of them did fist pumps and smiled at each other. Gail had noticed with amusement that when the men had first arrived, they had all sat together. But when Laurel had gotten there, Chuck had leapt to his feet and rushed around the table, pulling out Laurel's chair for her, as Cas would have done for Gail. Then he'd lowered himself into the chair next to her, leaving his buddies on the other side of the table. Gail looked at Kevin and Ethan, and they all exchanged smiles.

Gail's smile faded when she looked down at the other end of the table and saw Ogden sitting there staring at her, sour-faced. What could she possibly have done to offend him? She hadn't even said anything yet. She sighed inwardly. Ogden the Old-Timer. She wished that he had resigned at the same time as Patricia. If ever any two Angels deserved each other...She was surprised he wasn't wearing a neon "Vote For Patricia" button. Oh, well. There was nothing she could do about it. Unless someone else resigned, this would be the sitting board until the election. Hopefully, Ogden wouldn't cause her too many problems.

Once everyone had been seated, Gail welcomed them all back, and introduced Laurel as their new member. "Now, if everyone will turn to Page 1 of their agenda, we'll begin," Gail said.

"I don't see the point of this meeting," Ogden objected. "Until we have a sitting God, anything we decide here may well be rendered moot."

Great, she thought. Here we go. "If you'll recall, Ogden, the laws we wrote here were already ratified by God. Bobby was the sitting God at the time, and he put the seal of the Office on the document, right here in this boardroom. We all witnessed it. All I'm trying to do is administrate some of the laws that are already on the books."

"There's a very good chance that those so-called laws won't be worth the paper they're printed on, come November," Ogden retorted.

Gail pursed her lips. Give her strength. "And there's also a very, very, very good chance that they will be," she shot back. "In fact, I'd say the odds are excellent." Yeah, three to one, she thought, but did not say.

The other Angels sat on each side of the table looking back and forth from Gail to Ogden and then back again, as if watching a really riveting tennis match. Gail gazed coolly down the table at the older Angel, but he merely harrumphed, then fell silent.

"Page 1, everyone," Gail said again. She wondered how Cas was doing with his class.

They had phased into the physical aspect of the class, and Cas was a lot more relaxed now. Now, it was the students who were nervous. He and Riley had faced off, demonstrating a couple of simple self-defense techniques he wanted them to start with, and then Cas had paired them all up. Since there were an uneven number of students, Cas rotated Riley in and out with various combinations of sparring partners, and he walked around, observing what the students were doing.

Many of the young Angels were observing Cas as avidly as he was observing them, if more covertly. Most of them had started out in awe of his reputation, and now that they had seen him in action, their respect for him grew. The word around Heaven was that he was the odds-on favourite to be the next God. A few of the students had signed up out of sheer curiosity, but now that they were there, they were finding themselves caught up in the process of learning. A lot of the young Angels who had signed up for the class had done so because they wanted to do heroic things, not push a bunch of papers around a desk.

Pamela was one of the three female students, and she was currently paired with Riley. The other two females were friends, so they had paired up with each other. Castiel had noticed the disparity right away, so he had asked Riley to pair with her.

As Cas walked beside the spot where she and Riley were working, Pamela looked at her teacher. Because she was momentarily distracted, Riley was able to pin her down on the mat. As soon as the young Angel had done that, however, he apologized, and helped her up.

Cas had smiled at that. "As it's only the first day of class, I'll let that go. But an attacker wouldn't normally be such a gentleman, Riley."

His assistant grinned sheepishly. "You're right, Cas. Sorry."

Cas looked at Pamela. "And as for you, had he been a real attacker pinning you down like that, you would be expected to be able to turn the tables on him. I realize that it's more difficult for a woman, but believe me, it can be done. You saw how small my wife is, yet she can defend herself against men twice her size. What's your name?"

"Pamela," she said, pleased that he was singling her out.

"Well, Pamela, it's just a matter of confidence. We're here to help you learn," Cas told her. "If you need my assistance, don't hesitate to ask."

Then he moved on, but Pamela stared after him for a moment. Good-looking, manly, and kind. What a combination. She was starting to get the feeling that she would be asking him for extra assistance before long. She continued to watch Castiel as he walked around the room, demonstrating certain holds and moves with a few of the male cadets who seemed a bit more advanced. But that was all right; the less advanced she was, the more extra work would be needed with the teacher. Of course, her primary purpose was to report anything interesting that Castiel had said or done back to Patricia, and Pamela already had something to tell her boss. Patricia definitely wasn't going to like what he'd said at the beginning of his speech about only three of the candidates being there, and what that signified. And she also wasn't going to like what Castiel had said about the humans. But it didn't matter to Pamela, one way or the other. The more controversial things he said, the better. Then, Patricia would want Pamela to be around Castiel even more, and that was an assignment she would continue to enjoy, very much.

"Are you ready to try again?" Riley said, breaking into her thoughts.

Pamela smiled. "I sure am," she said.

An hour or so later, Pamela was in Patricia's office, giving her the report. Most of what the older Angel was hearing was pretty much what she'd expected to hear. Even the part about Castiel's speech where he had pointed out Patricia's absence at the Academy's first session did not surprise her. But when Pamela informed her that Castiel had been spouting his own very slanted views in class, extolling the virtues of his humans, Patricia sat up and took notice. So, Castiel was going to try to use his position as the Professor of the Angel Academy to influence young minds, was he? Fine, then. That only proved to Patricia that her tactics were completely defensible. Well, she had an insider for Castiel's camp now, and the one for Gail's was on his way to Castiel's wife's office, right now.

Liz and Gail were sitting in Gail's office looking at campaign poster designs when Scott knocked on the open door jamb.

"Come in," Gail said, looking up.

Scott entered the office, making a beeline for Gail. He smiled, extending his hand. "It's an honour to meet you," he told her. "I'm here to lend my support to your campaign. Whatever you need." Then he introduced himself to Liz, repeating his offer.

"OK, Scott, here's your first test," Liz said affably. She gestured to the three poster designs. "We've been told we need the male vote. So, which one of these speaks to you, as a man?"

Scott grinned. "As a man? To be honest, none of them. But as a voter, this one, here." He tapped the one in the middle.

Gail smiled. "That one's my preference, too." She rolled her eyes. "If I have to have my face plastered all over Heaven, that is." Then she sighed. "I'm hoping that thing will kick in soon, where the spouses start to resemble each other. If I looked like Cas, I'd be putting up posters of myself everywhere. Woof."

Liz giggled. "Sorry, Scott," she said to the young Angel. "We're not always this shallow here, I swear."

Gail looked at her. "What are you talking about? Yes, we are! Well, when it comes to my husband, that is. But you don't need to worry, Scott."

Liz smiled. "Yeah. She's only got googly eyes for Cas."

Scott continued to grin. He'd see about that. "So, ladies, how can I help?" he said, sitting down beside Liz.

VIGNETTE - THE DANCING OF POLITICS

Eunice was very excited. What a coup. Her organization, the Heavenly Hostesses, was Heaven's first to have landed all four of the candidates for the High Office to address their group.

Patricia had already been to see them, and her speech had been a hit. In a few minutes, Bobby would speak. None of the ladies were personally acquainted with him, but they were attempting to keep open minds about him. After all, the Father had given Bobby the job at one point, hadn't he? So the Hostesses were willing to give him a listen, on that basis alone, although they were a little suspicious about his apparent love for modern technology, and newfangled ways. Computers, in Heaven? Also, rumour had it that Bobby had courted Patricia for a time, but that seemed to be a thing of the past now. Why was that? they wondered.

And then, after Bobby's appearance, their group was going to be treated to speeches from the other two candidates, the husband and wife team of Castiel and Gail. Eunice was really looking forward to that. The ladies all knew of Castiel, of course. He was the senior Angel, a member of the Upper Echelon. No one really called it that any more, but the Hostesses were an organization comprised of female Angels to whom these kinds of things still mattered. In their opinion, too many young Angels lacked the manners and respect that were required for a decent society. Castiel had a young Angel as a campaign manager; Riley, his name was. But when he had come to see Eunice to book Castiel to speak to the group, young Riley had been properly respectful. He had even called her "Ma'am". And, just a minute ago, another young man named Scott had called on Eunice, asking if Gail might speak to her group at the same time.

This would be a real treat. Gail was a mystery to the ladies. She was so new to Heaven that none of them really knew too much about her. A few of the Hostesses had seen Gail and Castiel walking about Heaven a couple of times, and the Angel couple had usually been holding hands. While the ladies were a little unsure how they felt about such public displays of affection, they all did love a good love story. Gail was a tiny little thing with big brown eyes, and she had looked adoringly at her husband. Eunice was frankly quite leery about the idea of having a female God as it was, but if there was going to be one, it might be nice to have a demure, married lady as their leader. Gail could serve as a shining example of how a woman could be in a position of authority, yet still retain her femininity and defer to her husband. And defer to her husband she must, because obedience and subservience to one's husband was built right into the marriage vows for female Angels. Yes, Gail might very well be a candidate they could support. In any event, it would be extremely interesting to see Gail and her husband, and to hear what they had to say.

"Bobby? Is that you?"

As he turned around, Gail bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing. Bobby was wearing an old-style suit which didn't quite fit him, and his hair was slicked back. He was even wearing a bolo tie, for goodness' sake. All that was missing to complete the picture was the cowboy hat he should be worrying with his hands.

"How were the ladies?" Gail asked him, desperately willing her lips not to twitch.

Bobby looked at her coolly. He was well aware of her amusement. But she obviously had no idea of what she was dealing with, here. If she did, she wouldn't be dressed like she was. "Is that what you're wearing?" he asked her.

Gail looked down at herself. She was wearing her customary pull-on top and blue jeans. "Why, do you think I should have dressed up?" she said, wrinkling her forehead.

"These are some real old-fashioned ladies," Bobby told her, nodding his head back towards the room he had just left. "I'm surprised your campaign team didn't give you the heads-up."

"Well, truthfully, this was a bit of a last-minute thing," Gail responded. "Scott came into my office a few minutes ago and said that I was the only one who hadn't been booked to see this group. And since Cas was due to talk to them now, Scott got me in, too. But I didn't really have a lot of time to prepare. Liz gave me a few notes, and aside from that, I thought I'd just wing it. So to speak." She laughed nervously. "This is my first real foray onto the campaign trail. Oh, well. Thank goodness Cas is in there. So there'll be one friendly face, anyway."

"Good luck," Bobby said. He walked away, shaking his head. The poor girl had no idea what she was walking into. Those women were going to eat her alive.

Now, Gail was even more nervous. Should she have dressed up? Worn her FBI suit, or one of her dresses, maybe? Crap. But it was too late now. She was here with only a couple of minutes to spare, as it was. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Cas was at a podium in the front of the room. Riley had supplied him with a speech, and he'd begged Cas to stick to it. He had also told Cas to put on a suit and tie, and some cologne. Cas had needed a shower after class, anyway. He hadn't been able to resist getting in there with some of the cadets, doing some mat work, and he'd become sweaty as a result. So he had popped over to their new suite to shower afterwards. Then he'd put his suit on, shaved, combed his hair, and applied the cologne.

The Hostesses were enchanted by Castiel. He was charming, he was handsome, and he smelled wonderful. Very masculine. When he had been sitting at the front of the room waiting for his cue to speak, Eunice had entered the room through a side door, and Cas had risen to his feet when she had come in. Then, after Eunice had introduced him to the ladies and he had risen to give his speech, Castiel had made a point to pull out Eunice's chair for her when she came to sit down in the chair beside the one he had just vacated. Such courtly, old-world manners were very unique these days.

When Gail entered the room, she tried to be as quiet about it as possible, but Cas noticed her entrance, of course. He faltered in his speech for a moment, but his face lit up when he saw her, and he broke into a wide smile.

Eunice rose from her chair. "Please excuse the interruption," she said to the audience. "That's my fault, I'm afraid. I made a last-minute arrangement to have the final candidate join us today. Thank you for coming, Gail. We'll get you a chair to sit in until your husband is finished."

As Gail approached the front of the room, Eunice made to bring over another chair, but Cas said, "Allow me." He got a chair for his wife and seated her beside Eunice, then resumed his speech.

But Eunice was distracted now. It had been very sweet to see Castiel's face light up like it had when his wife had entered the room, and she had liked the way he had rushed to get Gail a chair and seated her. However, Gail was dressed far too casually for Eunice's liking. Her husband was dressed in a very nice suit and tie, yet Gail simply had on a blue pull-on top and blue jeans. How disappointing. Eunice had been hoping to see Gail in a pretty dress, maybe a colour matching her husband's tie. Patricia had worn a very conservative dress, with a set of pearls. And while Eunice wouldn't have expected a girl as young as Gail to have dressed quite that conservatively, she had been hoping for something a little more feminine.

Gail sensed the side-eye she was getting from Eunice, and her heart sank. It was obvious now that Gail should have worn nicer clothes. Not only was Cas wearing his suit, but all of the women in the audience were wearing dresses. Every single one of them. Double crap. And look at the expressions on the womens' faces as they were looking at Cas. When her husband had seated her, Gail had noticed that he'd combed his hair, shaved really close, and he had even put on cologne. So, he'd brought out the big guns, had he? She didn't know why she had bothered to come here at all, really. All Cas had to do to appeal to women was just show up, as far as Gail was concerned.

The subject matter of Cas's speech was mostly immaterial to the Hostesses. They were pretty much already sold on him, because of his looks, his charm, and his manners. But Riley had been aware of the nature of the organization that Cas was speaking to, and Riley was no fool. He had talked to a couple of the Hostesses and found out that Patricia's speech had gone over very well with the group, mainly because she had spoken about old-fashioned values, and a woman's place. And just where was that place? Riley had inquired politely. Apparently, the woman could occupy a higher position, as long as she stepped back when her husband entered the room. She could be as liberated as she wanted to be, as long as her husband let her. Oh, boy, Riley had thought. Gail would freak. And Riley knew that Cas wasn't going to go for that, either. So he had very carefully crafted a speech for Cas that put emphasis on his length of service and heroism, and his love and respect for God the Father. Patricia had said that women should defer to men, because God had intended for things to be that way. But in Castiel's speech, Riley had put a clever spin on that particular rhetoric. Now, Cas was saying that God had intended all of His children to love one another, and that women should not only be loved, but they should be revered. And the Hostesses were eating this up with a spoon.

Gail had to hand it to Riley. It was a masterfully written speech. Everything that Cas was saying now was something that her husband truly believed in. And if there were a few omissions, and a spin or two put on certain issues, well, this was politics, wasn't it? But now, Gail could actually see why Bobby had been dressed that way. She was sure that Laurel must have been behind it. She'd probably wanted Bobby to appear to these women as a real Southern gentleman. And Gail was sure he would have, too. He may come across as a little bit crusty sometimes, but Bobby had always been polite and mannerly when it came to women. All he would have needed to do was call one of two of these old biddies "dear", and they would have been putty in his hands.

Meanwhile, Cas was charming the group now, and he wasn't even really trying to. He was just being himself. At the end of his speech, there was a question period. All of the questions were of a softball nature, and Cas handled them beautifully.

"It's so rare for a man to show old-fashioned manners these days," one of the women simpered when Castiel called upon her. Cas waited patiently for the question that must be coming. The woman was flustered. Oh, yes, he was expecting a question, wasn't he? She had just wanted to speak to him. She cleared her throat. "What advice would you give to a young man on how to behave towards a member of the weaker sex?"

Cas was taken aback for a moment. What on earth did that question have to do with the election? But all of the women were looking at him expectantly, so he said, "Well, first of all, I don't care for the expression 'the weaker sex'. I know it's intended to refer to physical strength, but I think it denigrates women unnecessarily. If a term has to be used, I would prefer the term 'the fairer sex'. I think that has a much more positive connotation. Besides, my wife was born on a Monday, and she is fair of face, as the poem goes."

Gail looked at him, startled. What the hell was he talking about? But then, she realized: he must be talking about the date she'd thought was her birthday, growing up. But none of them really knew what date she'd actually been born. Still, it was a nice thing for him to say, she supposed.

"Plus, she's always been more than fair with me, when it comes to helping out around the house," Cas continued, smiling winningly. "I don't always do my share. It's something I've been meaning to work on. The number of things that women are able to accomplish on a daily basis frankly astonish me. I think we men should take lessons, I really do. But, I apologize for my digression. You were asking about teaching the young, I believe. Well, I'll leave such things as manners and etiquette to people who are eminently more qualified, such as yourselves. But as part of the curriculum in our new Academy, not only will I be teaching the cadets how to fight, I hope to be imparting to them a sense of ethics, and values."

Eunice stood, joining Cas at the podium. "Well, I, for one, think that's commendable," the head Hostess said to him. "You know, to be honest, when I first heard about the Academy, I was unsure how I felt about it. It all seemed so...violent. But after meeting you here today and hearing you speak so eloquently, I'm all in favour of having such an upstanding role model as yourself teaching our young people."

Cas nearly looked behind him. He had been called a lot of things in Heaven, but "upstanding role model"? Now, that was a first.

"Maybe some of our ladies could visit one of your classes sometime?" Freida called out from the audience. "I, for one, would enjoy deferring to YOUR expertise in such matters, Castiel." Oh, boy, would she ever enjoy deferring to him, Freida thought, smiling to herself. She would defer to him any time, on any number of subjects. Gail was one lucky woman.

"I'm sure we could probably arrange something," Cas said vaguely, "but for right now, I've run past my allotted time. It's Gail's turn to speak now, and I'm looking forward to hearing what she has to say."

"Does that mean you're going to remain with us while your wife speaks?" Eunice asked him.

"I thought that I would, if that's OK with everyone," Cas said charmingly. "As we both have full-time jobs in addition to campaigning, I don't get as much time to spend with Gail as I'd like."

There was a collective sigh from the women, and they applauded him spontaneously. "Of course you should stay, then," Eunice said warmly.

Cas walked back to where Gail was sitting, and when she rose, he leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. There was another sigh from the women, and Gail couldn't help but smile. The thing was, if it had been anyone but Cas, Gail would have accused them of pandering to the group. But, this was him; this was what her husband was genuinely like. The fact that the old-school aspect of his personality played right into their wheelhouse was just a happy coincidence.

But as Gail got up to the podium and looked down at the notes that Liz had given her, she realized that she didn't really have anything to say that these women would want to hear. She had been prepared to speak about women's rights and empowerment, but clearly, she would be barking up the wrong tree here. The silver lining for her was that these women liked Cas as much as they did. If the object was to keep votes away from Patricia, it had probably been achieved by their visit here today.

So she made an impulsive decision. She stuffed the notes she'd been holding in her back pocket. "I don't have a speech prepared," she said to the women. "As Eunice stated, my appearance here was a bit of a last-minute thing. So, if it's OK with all of you, I think I'll just take a few questions."

Freida raised her hand immediately, and Gail pointed to her.

"When Patricia was here, she spoke about a woman's place," Freida said. "As both a married female and a candidate for the High Office, I'm very interested to hear your views on the subject."

Wow. So much for softball questions, Gail thought. For a split second, she considered waffling. But she just couldn't do it. She had to be true to herself. And she thought that it was a very important point to make, especially to women like these, who were allegedly in a position of influence. She took a deep breath.

"I imagine that Patricia said something about a woman's place being where the man allows it to be, or some kind of nonsense like that," Gail said dryly. "Which is kind of ironic, if you think about it, considering that she's running for the highest office in Heaven. But I say that a woman's place is wherever SHE says it should be, and if her husband truly loves her, he will support her in whatever she wants to achieve. I'm very lucky that way. Castiel is that kind of husband."

"But don't you think it's unseemly for a woman? Don't you think she could be perceived as being bossy?" another lady called out from the audience. Never mind that it was unseemly to be yelling out questions, Gail couldn't help but think. "Bossing men around?"

Gail's lips twitched. "Obviously not, or I wouldn't be running for the High Office. To me, that's one of the perks."

She'd been trying to be funny, but as Gail looked around the room, she could see that her humour was falling flat. Fine. If these humourless old hens wanted her to be serious, she'd be serious. "Why is it that a man can be a boss, but a woman is called 'bossy'?" she asked rhetorically. "Why is it that if a man is in control, he's considered assertive, and a take-charge kind of individual, while a woman in the same position is seen as a ball-buster?"

Some of the women gasped, while others clucked their tongues. "We don't approve of that type of language here," Eunice said in a prissy tone.

"What type of language?" Gail quipped nervously. "Woman?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Eunice said crossly. "Ladies don't use that kind of language."

"If I may say something here, I would like to point out that my wife and I have spent much time on Earth recently, while we were completing the missions which enabled us to vanquish Lucifer," Cas spoke up. "The language that Gail is using is acceptable vernacular on Earth. She has clearly become acclimated, as a result of lengthy exposure to human men. I beg that you do not hold that against her."

Gail could see the women's reaction to what he had said, and in a way, it made her even angrier. While she appreciated her husband's efforts to soften her image with these women, it annoyed her that they only seemed to respond when he was talking. She turned around to look at Cas. He had that earnest, puppy-dog expression on his face now. Gail could definitely see the appeal, but her blood had started to boil now. She looked at Eunice, who was looking at Cas with that simpering expression on her face now, as if she were listening to her Master's Voice. Didn't these women see that they were a big part of a larger problem here?

Gail turned back to the microphone. "While I appreciate my husband's efforts to intervene on my behalf, I see no need for them," she remarked. "As women yourselves, you should be as outraged as I am when it comes to sexism. This is a prime example of it, right here. Why is it that everyone in this room is eating up everything my husband says with a spoon and asking for seconds, yet when I talk about a real women's issue, all you seem to be able to focus on is my so-called bad language?"

Cas was panicked now. These were the types of ladies who would not take kindly to being upbraided like this. He stood from his chair. "My wife is absolutely right," he said loudly. "You should be listening to her, not to me."

Gail wheeled on him. "Then why are you still talking?" she said, frustrated.

The second she'd said it, she regretted it. Now she sounded like a bitch on wheels, shouting at her gallant husband, simply for trying to take up for her. Oh, well. She hadn't lost the room, because she'd never had the room. At least she'd probably gotten Cas some sympathy votes now.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Gail said in a quiet voice. "This has obviously not gone the way that any of us would have wanted. Please don't blame my husband for my sharp tongue." Then she rushed out of the room.

The ladies were buzzing as Cas excused himself, going after his wife. He caught up to Gail in the hallway.

There were tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Cas. I didn't mean that," she said to him. "They just made me so..."

"I know, my love. It's OK," he said. "Come here." He opened his arms and she walked into them. Gail let him hold her for a moment, and then she stepped back, blinking the tears away from her eyes. "Well, on the bright side, there's no way they're not going to vote for you now," she told him with a weak smile, "seeing as I'm such a fishwife."

"I thought you were a ball-buster," he said, his lips twitching.

His quip had the desired effect; it made her laugh. Gail touched his face. "Thank you for that, sweetie," she said to him. Then she moved closer to him again, sniffing. "You smell really nice. Is that your Christmas cologne?"

Cas smiled sheepishly. "Riley told me to wear it. He told me to wear the suit, too."

Gail made a face. "Maybe I should steal Riley from you. Scott didn't tell me a thing."

"Scott?" Cas asked her. "Who's that?"

"He's new to the staff," she told him. "Let's face it, I don't have the well-oiled machine that you do. But even though he's young, he seems to have a pretty good handle on things. Liz and I are kind of flying blind. But I guess I can't really blame them. I should have done my homework a little more, and dressed up. I think I lost them as soon as I walked in the room." She smiled up at him. "But let's face it; how could I possibly have gotten their attention when the world's most handsome and charming man was in the room?"

Cas smiled back. "Thank you for the compliment. I'm sorry today didn't go well for you. Maybe Scott can book you to speak to a men's group next. I'm sure you'll do much better there."

"We'll just have to make sure you're not booked for the same time, because if you show up looking and smelling this good, you'll probably make some inroads there, too," Gail said with a mischievous smile.

He laughed. "I love you, my darling. Please don't let this campaigning get you down."

She sighed. "I won't. Thanks, sweetie. I need to remember the goal is to get you elected. I'm just here to keep people from voting for Patricia. So, you charm all the ladies you can, and the guys, too. Whatever it takes. If she's telling people that a woman's place is behind a man, we can't let her get elected, Cas."

"You're quite right, and we won't. If you want me to, I'll find out if Riley can spare some time to stop in and see Liz and Scott and give them a few pointers. Would you like that?" he said, touching her cheek.

Gail nodded. "Sure, Cas, that would be great. I don't want Liz to feel bad. Or Scott, either."

"You're sweet to care about them like that," Cas remarked. Then he sighed. "I'd better get back there. I'll talk you up to them."

"Don't you dare," she said. "I don't need them, and I don't want them. Let them vote for you. You're the most deserving candidate, anyway."

He put his arms around her again. "Well, I certainly don't know what I did to deserve you. Will I see you later?"

Now, Gail sighed again. "Eventually. I have to arrange all the notes I made from today's board meeting into some kind of workable something-or-other. And I'm supposed to have a campaign strategy meeting with Liz and Scott, as well. I'm pretty sure I'll need that, after the fiasco I just had in there." She made a face. "I know. I miss you, too," she said to her husband. "I reiterate, it's a good thing we don't sleep, 'cause I might not be home until late."

Cas nodded. "The same goes for me. I have a campaign meeting as well, and then Riley and I were going to sit down and work on some lesson plans for the Academy."

"OK, well, I'll see you when I see you, then," Gail told him. "I love you too, sweetie."

The Angels shared a quick kiss, and then they reluctantly went their separate ways.


	3. To Sir, With Love

Chapter 3 - To Sir, With Love

A couple of months passed, and Cas and Gail were still working long hours in Heaven.

The latest poll results were in, and both of their campaign teams were over the moon. After the debacle with the Heavenly Hostesses, Gail, Liz and Scott decided to concentrate on younger, more progressive groups, and her poll numbers had risen accordingly.

In addition, Cas's numbers were soaring, both with males and females, alike. They were higher than Patricia's and Bobby's in every demographic. Riley was thrilled, but he was working Cas twice as hard, as a result. "We've got to strike while the iron is hot," his young campaign manager had advised, and the all-too-rare times Cas had been able to spend any time with Gail, she had agreed.

Patricia was growing very concerned. Her own numbers were fairly steady, but Castiel's increasing numbers were worrying her a great deal. She had some potentially explosive information on all three of her rivals, courtesy of big-mouth Becky, but there was only one problem: it was all hearsay. If she couldn't produce any proof of their wrongdoing, it would be just her word against theirs. And Castiel was so popular now that she didn't dare accuse him of anything without incontrovertible proof.

Pamela was sitting in the chair opposite Patricia's desk, and her boss was glaring at her. Like it was somehow Pamela's fault that Castiel's numbers were so high. Frankly, Pamela could understand why. She was totally besotted with Cas now. She'd been in his class for two months, and she was loving every minute of it. She wished class could last all day long. Pamela showed up early for class every morning, and she'd fallen into the routine of helping Riley set up. If Cas was already there, which he frequently was, she would engage him in conversation. At first, she had restricted her talk to the curriculum only, but as he'd become more and more used to her early-morning presence, she had tentatively begun asking him about the campaign, then about Earth, and then, about Gail. After a time, he had started to open up. She was a good listener, and because Riley was there as a buffer, it had never occurred to Cas that Pamela was anything but just an avid student.

But there had been nothing controversial to report, and Patricia was becoming more and more frustrated. Pamela could tell that her boss was having an internal struggle now, so the young Angel decided to take the bull by the horns, as it were.

"You know, a big part of why he polls so well with women is because of his devotion to that wife of his," Pamela said with disdain.

Patricia was still glaring. "So?" she said tersely. It was bad enough that she was losing this badly to Castiel without having Gail thrown in her face, too. Gail's numbers were also a little too healthy for Patricia's liking.

Pamela let out a breath. "So, if you want to screw Cas, so to speak, why don't you arrange to have him caught red-handed making improper advances to one of his students?"

Patricia's glare was icy now. "I know what you're getting at, Pamela, and you can just forget it. As much as it pains me to admit it, Castiel would never do anything like that. His little slut of a wife keeps him well taken care of in that area. You'd just be wasting your time."

Pamela grinned. Wow. If only the Angels could see Patricia like this, with her mask of propriety cast aside. She didn't know what Cas and Gail had ever done to piss Patricia off, but Pamela wouldn't want to be them. Well, actually, she wouldn't mind being Gail for a while. A week or two ought to do it, until Pamela wore Cas out. Or, by the look of him in class, it could well turn out to be the other way around.

"Well, it's my time to waste, isn't it?" she said to Patricia. "And besides, even if I'm not totally successful, if there's even a perception of impropriety, we can use that. Perception is key. Riley says that all the time."

Patricia shrugged. She thought it was highly doubtful that Castiel would be stupid enough to take the bait. But if it worked, it could be just the break she needed. So she gave Pamela the green light, and dismissed her.

Several more days passed, and Pamela was growing agitated. She had been hoping for the opportunity to get Cas alone, and in a compromising position, but Riley was always around. Now Pamela was the one who was getting frustrated. She hadn't intended to seduce Cas, not really, just get him in trouble. But the longer she was stymied from getting physically close to him, the more she started to really want to do it. God, he was sexy. He moved around the room like a caged tiger, springing into action when he saw a technique that he felt needed refinement. Frequently, he would jump in there himself, to demonstrate. He wore a jacket and tie in his office, and when he gave them written tests out in the gym. But when the mats came down, the blazer and tie came off, and Cas got sweaty with the rest of them. It was a good thing that Pamela was an Angel, or she would have lost a lot of sleep thinking about the droplets of sweat that she had frequently seen beading at the base of his neck. Then, after class was finished, Riley would hand Cas a towel and he would wipe his face and his neck with it, messing up his hair in the process. What Pamela wouldn't give to mess up his hair like that. She had become obsessed now. She didn't give a damn what Patricia thought. It was going to happen.

She had noticed that, when Cas went into his office after class, Riley would remain behind in the gymnasium area, putting up the mats and locking the weapons away. They had begun to use simulated weapons in class now, and Cas had advised that soon, the more advanced cadets would be graduating to real ones.

Pamela's opportunity came the day the students got their latest written tests back. Cas had quizzed them on defense techniques and strategies, as well as various weapons and their usage. Pamela was a smart girl, but she had made sure to answer many of the practical questions very tentatively. She'd known she wasn't going to score very well on that part of the test, but that had been by design, of course.

So when Cas had Riley hand out the tests after class, Pamela had flipped hers over to see a mark of C-. There was a notation below that read: "Fair, but needs improvement." She had suppressed a smile. That was just the opening she'd been looking for.

She waited until Riley started with the mats, and then Pamela went to Cas's office. She tapped lightly on the open door. "Can I see you for a minute?"

Cas looked up. "Yes, certainly, Pamela. Is it about your test?"

"Yes." She frowned. "Do you mind if I close the door, so we can talk privately?"

"Go ahead," Cas said. He put his pen down and looked at her expectantly. Pamela closed the door and sat down in the chair across the desk from him. "I remember you said if I needed assistance, I could come and talk to you." She smiled wryly, and put her test on the desk, facing him. "Clearly, I do."

Cas sat back in his chair. "I hope you don't think I'm being too hard on you," he said to her. "I just want to make sure you're all trained properly when you graduate. You seem very unsure of some of the basic self-defense techniques, and that concerns me."

"Can you go over some of the questions with me?" Pamela asked him.

"Sure," he agreed. He looked down at the paper. "Here, for instance: I had asked what the five best ways are to incapacitate an attacker without using a weapon. Basic self-defense. But you didn't answer the question correctly." He pointed to her answer.

"Just a minute, Cas. I can't read upside down," Patricia said, smiling. She rose from her chair and moved around to his side of the desk.

Cas gave her a smile in return. After a time, he had encouraged his students to call him Cas. It made him nervous to have that many young people calling him "Sir". It had been bad enough when Riley was doing it all the time. But Pamela was one of the few students who used the diminutive of his name, calling him Cas instead of Castiel, and he liked that. He liked her, too. She was an extremely avid student, who was always eager to lend a hand around the gym. He wondered if she might be interested in Riley. But regardless, she was very pleasant to be around, and Cas was aware that it was more of a struggle for a woman to learn how to fight. Look how long it had taken Gail to get the proper techniques down. So he was willing to give Pamela any extra attention she might require.

She came around to his side of the desk, leaning over his shoulder to look at the question he was pointing to.

"See, here," Cas said. "You missed the pressure point on the wrist. Also, and I hesitate to say this because I'm a man, but you omitted the blow to the crotch. Extremely painful, but highly effective." His lips twitched.

He was joking now. Pamela loved it when he did that. Cas was a fairly stern taskmaster in class, but every now and then he would say something humorous, and his lips would twitch like this. She thought it was adorable.

She laughed, touching his arm lightly. "That was a good one, Cas." Then she leaned down a little closer. "And, yes, you're right. I missed those. Where else did I mess up?"

Cas glanced at her, and he suddenly realized that he could see right down her top. He quickly averted his eyes. He had noticed that many young females wore them that way and of course, he encouraged his students to wear loose-fitting, casual clothing to class. She was probably unaware that she was exposing as much skin as she was. Should he say something? No, that would only embarrass her, and she was just here trying to learn. So he ignored the sight and kept his eyes focused on the paper.

It was funny, really. When Cas had first opened the Academy, he'd thought that they would just do mat work, like he'd done with the designated Angels at the bunker. But Gail had asked him how he could possibly gauge the progress of that many students at once. He couldn't be everywhere and see everything, and the group at the bunker had been a lot smaller. If he were to give them written tests every now and then, which she and Sam had called "pop quizzes", he would be able to tell how much of what he was telling the students was actually sinking in, and which students would need further coaching.

That had made sense to Cas, so he and Gail had popped down to the bunker one day when the brothers had come home from the road to ask Sam for his opinion on how the tests should be worded.

Dean had been there, and Gail and Cas had been pleasantly surprised to see Frank, as well. He'd dropped over to have a beer with the brothers, and when Sam had advised Frank that the Angels were coming, Gail's brother had hung around to see them.

Gail had run over to Frank as soon as she and Cas got there, squealing with delight. She hugged him fiercely. "How are you? How's Jody? Is she still eating weird food? Is she getting a big tummy now? How's Rob? Did he get a summer job?"

Frank hugged her back. "Geez, if you'd shut up for a minute, maybe I could answer some of your questions," he grumbled good-naturedly. "Or, if you want to write them all down, like one of your tests, I'll just take it home and have Jody fill it out. How would that be?"

Gail pulled out of the embrace, hitting her brother on the arm. "Oh, how I've missed that sparkling wit of yours," she said dryly.

Cas came forward to shake Frank's hand. "Hello, Frank. It's good to see you. How are things at home?"

Frank shook his brother-in-law's hand, and then he looked at Gail. "See, now THAT'S how you ask a question."

"He's going to be God soon. He won't have a lot of time for chit-chat," Sam said, grinning.

Dean looked at his brother, then did a double-take. "Chit-chat?" he asked Sam, raising his eyebrows. "Who ARE you?"

Frank ignored the men as he continued to look at his sister. "Or YOU could be God. A thought which both impresses me and terrifies me, at the same time. Do you know you could make history by being the world's first female God? That's huge, kiddo."

"Hey, if Gail becomes the first female God, what would that make Cas?" Sam asked the group.

Cas's forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean, Sam?"

"Well, the President's wife is called the First Lady," Sam explained, "so, would that make you the First Man?"

"No, that was my father," Cas deadpanned.

They all looked at him for a moment. "Oh, I get it. Because your father was Adam! Good one, Cas!" Frank said heartily. He leaned forward. "Up top, bro."

Cas high-fived Frank, smiling widely. He had received the coveted high-five of approval from Gail's brother, and he was proud of himself. Perhaps Gail and Frank's talent for quick quips was finally rubbing off on him. Sam and Dean offered him high-fives then too, and Gail gave him a big kiss on the cheek, congratulating him on his wit.

"But, to get back to your original question, everything's good at home," Frank responded. "I talked Sam and Dean into helping me build a crib."

"Really? That's a three-person job?" Gail said skeptically.

"Zip it, kiddo," Frank said hastily. "What I didn't tell them is that I'm luring them over for beer and pizza, so that I can actually rope them into helping me build an extra room for the house. I wanna get the nursery built before Jody's due."

Miraculously, Dean didn't grumble. "We can do that," he said, taking a sip of his beer.

Sam was looking at his brother incredulously. "We can? I don't know how to build an extension to a house, Dean. And neither do you."

"So? Google it, Smart Guy. We'll figure it out. Right, Frank?" Dean toasted Gail's brother with his beer bottle.

Frank clinked his bottle against Dean's. "Right," he agreed. He looked at Cas. "Hey, in keeping with the Biblical humour, I don't suppose you could put us in touch with God's other kid? He was a carpenter, wasn't he?"

"Better still, why don't you just wait until one of us is God, or Bobby is?" Gail asked her brother. "Then you wouldn't have to do all that work. I could probably just fold my arms and blink, or something."

Frank grinned. "As cool as that would be to see, I don't think we've got that kind of time. Jody's due in November."

"I'm sorry I'll be unable to help you, Frank," Cas said ruefully.

"That's OK, Cas. I know you're busy teaching, and with all of that election stuff," Frank said. He sighed, looking at Gail. "You too, I guess. Too bad. I'd love to get you hammering nails and painting walls, though. It'd probably be the most actual work you've done in a long time."

"Hey!" she objected. But then she smirked. "I have to admit, I'd love to chase you guys around holding a wet paint brush, though."

"Never mind that, me and the guys are gonna have a nail gun fight," Frank said, smiling wickedly. "That's how Hunters goof around." Sam and Dean looked at him suspiciously, hoping he was joking.

"As it is, we've got Barry and Tommy's wedding in July," Cas said, taking Gail's hand. "But we couldn't possibly skip that; we're standing up for them."

"We'll probably have to talk about that, closer to the date," Gail chipped in. "Normally, we'd take you to Vancouver ourselves, but since we're standing up, we'll have additional duties. They're inviting the usual Angel suspects, though, so we'll just have a couple of them pick all you guys up." She sighed. "I wish Bobby could be there. But he's stuck in Heaven till the election. Boy, will I ever be glad when all that stuff is over." Then she poked Frank. "Oh, by the way, before I forget, you'll never guess who's running my campaign." She told her about her encounter with Liz in Heaven.

Frank was astonished. But while it was a shame that Liz had died so young, he was thrilled that Gail and her childhood friend had been reunited. Not that he was going to tell his little sister that, of course. "Boy, am I glad SHE can't come down here," Frank said, rolling his eyes. "You kids used to drive me nuts."

"Ahhh, you liked it," Gail teased him. "Hey, speaking of kids, did Rob get a job?"

Frank shook his head. "Nah. Jody and I decided to ease up on him about that. He's been helping his mom out around the house a bit more, and his attitude's improved. I told him if he helps us with the home renos, I'd pay him an hourly wage for it, and then pay him for babysitting, when the baby comes. I opened a savings account for him to manage. I put a thousand bucks in there to get him started, and told him he'll have to learn how to save money. He wants a car, of course, and he still likes video games, too. So I told him he'll have to figure out his priorities, and start socking it away."

"Didn't these guys give you a whole whack of money not too long ago?" Dean asked Frank, nodding toward the Angels.

"Yeah, but that's not what being a good parent is all about, Dean," Frank told him. "I'm not gonna just hand him a bunch of money and tell him to buy whatever he wants. He's got to learn the value of a dollar, and of an honest day's work."

"Well said, Frank," Cas told Gail's brother. "And, speaking of a work ethic, we'd better get working on those tests. Have you got any ideas, Sam?"

"I do, Cas. Let's brainstorm," Sam replied, taking out a pad of paper and a pen. But then he hesitated, tapping the pen on the paper. Paper. Paper. What was he forgetting?

"You and Jody are going to be amazing parents," Gail said to Frank, and then it occurred to Sam what he'd been forgetting. "Hey, Gail," Sam said. "I almost forgot. I've got something for you. Hold on." He left the library area and hurried down the hall to his room. A minute later, he was back, holding the pages of Oliver's journal that Thane had given him. He explained to her what had happened to the journal, and that they were working on getting more pages.

"I didn't read it," Sam told her. "I felt like it wasn't really mine to read. But Thane told me he did, and he seems to think you might want to give it a look." He looked at Dean, who shrugged. The brothers had been debating whether or not to tell Gail their suspicions that Oliver was her uncle, and Vincent, the psycho brother, was her father. But wasn't that her business? Besides, she had so much on her plate right now, and all they had were suspicions. "Read it, and if you want, we can go to Quinn's to talk to Oliver, after," Sam said to Gail now.

"OK, Sam," she replied. She handed the pages to Cas, who stashed them in his jacket pocket. "Thanks," Gail continued, "but right now, we'd better get working on those tests. Cas and I have to get back soon."

So Sam and Cas and Gail had brainstormed ideas for written quizzes on weapons and self-defense techniques, with Frank and Dean throwing a suggestion in here and there.

"Written tests on fighting," Frank said, smirking. "Now I've seen everything."

Dean laughed. "Only Sammy could nerd up something as cool as weaponry," he wisecracked.

"These tests are very important," Cas admonished the men. "They could mean the difference between life and death."

They were all silent for a moment, and then Dean said, "Way to go, Professor Buzzkill." He and Frank high-fived, and Gail rolled her eyes. "Smartasses," she muttered.

Cas's cheek tickled, bringing him back to the present. He reached up to touch his face, startled. Pamela's hair had come out of the ponytail she wore to train, and it was hanging over her shoulder.

Pamela laughed at his reaction. "I'm sorry, Cas," she said, sweeping her hair away from his face. She inadvertently touched his cheek as she did so, and Cas flinched. He had a momentary flashback of Aurielle, touching his face in his jail cell during the tribunal. But he shook it off. He was being ridiculous. The situations were totally different. Still, he slid his chair away from her just a bit. But then, when they went over the next question on the test, she moved closer to him again. He could smell a scent coming from her. Perfume? No, that couldn't be right. Surely she wouldn't wear perfume to a training class. Unless she was wearing it for Riley, maybe? It was a lovely and delicate scent. Gail never wore perfume, although the shampoo his wife used smelled very nice. He missed Gail. The two of them were working so hard that they hadn't had any alone time together in a while.

Cas was so distracted daydreaming about his wife that he didn't move away this time when Pamela edged even closer to him. And, of course, that was the moment that Gail picked to come breezing through his closed office door.

Gail's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. What was this, now? She'd just assumed that Cas had closed the door for a little peace and quiet. Riley was rattling around in the gym, putting things away. He'd smiled and told her that Cas was in his office, so she had gone straight through.

Gail cleared her throat, and both Pamela and Cas looked up. Crap, Pamela thought. She would pick now to barge in here.

Cas slid his chair away from Pamela again. Now he felt guilty, as though he'd been doing something wrong. Gail did not look happy.

"Should I come back later?" Gail said. Her face held no expression, and her voice had no inflection, so Cas couldn't tell if she was angry or not. But his startled reaction couldn't have helped.

Pamela moved away from Cas immediately. "Oh, hi, Gail. It's good to see you," the young Angel said pleasantly. "We were just going over the answers on the quiz." She gave Gail a cat-ate-the-canary kind of smile and said, "I'll get going, now. Thank you for your help, Cas. I'll do better, next time. See you tomorrow." Then Pamela walked past Gail, out of the office.

"She needed help with her test," Cas told his wife. "I was helping her."

Hmm. More like she was trying to help herself, Gail thought. But she was being ridiculous now, wasn't she? She couldn't lose it every time she saw another woman standing a little close to Cas, or she'd go crazy.

So she smiled at her husband. "Hi, sweetie. How's it going?"

They talked for a few minutes, and then she said, "I had a couple of seconds to rub together, so I looked online for that song we were talking about."

Cas looked at her blankly for a moment, and then he brightened. "Oh, yes. The wedding song."

"Yes, and I found it! So I thought I'd try to rewrite the lyrics a bit for Barry and Tommy, and I came here to see if you could spare a couple of minutes to look at my new lyrics, and tell me what you think."

"New lyrics?" Cas asked her, puzzled. "Why new lyrics?"

"The song's written for a man and a woman, Cas," she replied pointedly.

"Oh," Cas said. Then he smiled. "That will be a nice surprise for them. Very romantic."

"That's what I'm hoping," Gail responded. She took the piece of paper with the reworked lyrics out of her pants pocket, then walked around to his side of the desk. She put the page in front of him, then leaned down over his shoulder, as Pamela had been doing a few minutes prior. Then she sniffed loudly.

Cas looked at her. "What are you doing?" he asked his wife.

"Oh, nothing," she said innocently. "I was just curious if you were wearing some of your lady-killer cologne today. Then that might explain why Pamela was standing so close to you, and why her top apparently fell open while she was doing it."

Cas's heart sank. He had been hoping she was just going to let that slide. "I'm sorry about that, my love," he told his wife. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. "You're right; she was standing a little close," Cas admitted. "If that happens again, I will advise her it's inappropriate. And as far as her top is concerned, I'm sure she was unaware that it was so revealing."

Really? Gail thought. Based on that phony smile she gave me, I wouldn't be so sure. But she was doing it again, now. "OK, Cas," she said patiently. She put her arms around his neck. "I'm trying not to feel jealous, here," she told him softly, "but it's difficult when your students are seeing more of you these days than I am."

Cas kissed her on the mouth. "I know, my darling. I feel the same way. I stop in class sometimes, or in campaign meetings, and I wonder what you're doing, or if you're thinking of me, too," he said.

Gail smiled. "Only all the time," she said, and she kissed him back. His arms tightened around her, and he opened her lips with his tongue. It had been so long since they'd been alone together, and able to kiss like this.

"Knock, knock," Riley said, tapping at Cas's door.

They broke the kiss and looked at each other. "I don't know whether to laugh, or cry," Gail said softly, and Cas smiled wryly. "I suggest we do both," he quipped.

"I'm really sorry, you guys, but Cas has an appearance with the Junior Seraphs in fifteen minutes," Riley said apologetically.

Cas sighed, as Gail got off his lap. She looked down at the piece of paper she'd laid on top of Pamela's test. That hadn't been exactly intentional, but the symbolism gave her a moment's satisfaction. Then she also sighed, taking the paper back and putting it in her pants pocket again. She'd have to show it to him another time.

But Cas was looking downcast now, so Gail smiled. "Oh, the Junior Seraphs. I talked to them a few days ago. They're so young, it's unbelievable. They reminded me of those minions we saw at Universal Studios. There's a whole bunch of them, and they looked at me with big, wide eyes. I can't even believe they're old enough to vote." She looked at Cas and laughed. "You're going to terrify them. Make sure you talk softly, like you're telling them a bedtime story, or something. Otherwise, they'll probably all faint from fear."

"I was a Junior Seraph, just a couple of years ago," Riley remarked.

Gail smirked. "Thank you for proving my point, Riley." She and Cas laughed together as Riley looked at them uncertainly. Were they making fun of him, or not? Then Gail kissed her husband on the cheek, he gave her a squeeze, and she left his office.

It was the second weekend of July now, and Gail was standing beside Barry in front of a flower bed in Stanley Park, waiting for Cas to escort Tommy to the spot.

Why did people insist on having summer weddings outdoors? she thought crankily. It was hot as the dickens, and there were bees buzzing around, attracted by the flowers. But as she looked at Barry's face, Gail realized that her temporary discomfort didn't matter. Just look at his happy expression.

Barry's smile widened as Cas escorted Tommy to the place where they were standing. In a touching gesture, Cas embraced each man and kissed them both on the cheek. Then he stepped back as they faced the officiant.

"I have a bit of a surprise for you guys," Gail told the couple. "I hope you'll like it." She walked back to the chairs where the guests were seated, nodding to Frank. He reached under his folding chair for the guitar he had been keeping there. Years ago, he had taught himself how to play acoustic guitar as a way to pass the time in all those motel rooms, and when she'd called him to tell him her idea, he had downloaded the sheet music for The Wedding Song and taught himself the chords.

Frank began to play, and Gail cleared her throat nervously. She began to sing the retooled lyrics to the song. Instead of referring to a man and a woman, or a husband and wife, she had rewritten the lyrics to refer specifically to two men.

As soon as Gail sang the first line: "He is now to be among you/at the calling of your hearts," tears started to stream down Barry's face. Tommy looked at him inquiringly. "That's the song they played at my parents' wedding," Barry said softly. "My Dad told me. I can't believe she remembered that. I told her that the year we first met."

Gail sang: "The union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain/For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name/There is love."

Now Tommy started tearing up too, and he gave Barry's hand a squeeze. This was their wedding day. It was finally here. He and Barry had been through so much together, but their relationship had remained strong. And now, they were going to take their vows, in front of their friends and extended family.

Barry was looking warmly at Gail. His little Angel friend. Either she or Cas might be God, in the fall. It was hard to wrap his head around the concept. But for now, she was singing in a beautiful, lilting voice for him and Tommy, and he felt so honoured. But at its heart, he knew the song was about a man and a woman, and its lyrics said as much. Oh well, you couldn't have everything.

Gail smiled as she sang: "For a man shall leave his family, and another leave his home/They shall travel on to where the two shall be as one."

Barry and Tommy broke into grins, and Gail gave the couple a head nod of acknowledgement. Then she continued:

"As it was in the beginning, is now until the end/A person draws his life from you, and gives it back again/And there's love.

"Well then, what's to be the reason for entering married life?/Is it love that brings you here, or love that brings you life?/For if loving is the answer, then who's the giving for?/Do you believe in something that you've never seen before?

"All is love.

"He is love."

The song ended, and Gail smiled at Frank. "Good job," she mouthed. Then she moved up to stand beside Barry again. Cas had been standing beside Tommy this whole time, and he looked lovingly at his wife. "That was beautiful," he told her, and now he and Gail had tears in their eyes, too. The four of them looked at each other, and then they laughed.

The officiant was a registered Minister who also happened to belong to the gay community. He smiled. "That was just lovely," Rory commented. "While we all take a moment to wipe our eyes, I feel compelled to say that I'm delighted to be here on this joyous occasion. And I'm very happy to see so many people out here to support you both. We're lucky to live in a country that allows freedom of expression, and the ability to actually marry the one you love. Period. Love is love, and as that wonderful reworking of the classic song reminds us, God is all about love. And while I'm not here to get all preachy on you, I firmly believe that when we all get to the Gates of Heaven, as long as we've lived our lives right, we'll be welcomed with open arms."

"Hear, hear," Cas murmured, and they all smiled again.

The ceremony was brief due to the heat of the afternoon, and the fact that Barry and Tommy had written their own vows. They did the exchange of rings, and when Rory blessed their union and invited them to kiss, the men embraced and then kissed each other on the mouth in a prolonged kiss that went on for a minute or three.

"Hey! 'Cas and Gail'! Wrap it up!" Dean catcalled, and their friends all laughed. So did Barry and Tommy. "Please excuse our friend," Tommy said to the guests. "He's overdue for his first beer of the day."

"That's all right, so am I," Rory quipped. "Thank you for coming, everyone."

The guests all rushed forward to congratulate the couple. A youngish woman tapped Tommy on the shoulder, and when he turned around, he exclaimed, "Carolyn!" He hugged the girl tightly to him as Barry's jaw dropped open.

"Carolyn?" Barry said in a hushed voice. "Your sister?"

Carolyn came out of the embrace, looking at Barry. "Yes, I'm Tommy's youngest sister," she told Tommy's new husband. "Someone called on me and told me that he was getting married today, so I flew in from Indiana to be here."

"Indiana?" Barry echoed, puzzled. "But aren't you from Vancouver?"

"Yes, but I moved down there to be with my husband a few years ago," she told him.

"How is he? Is he here?" Tommy asked his sister.

Carolyn grimaced. "I didn't want to bring that up on your wedding day, but, we got divorced."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Barry said sympathetically.

"Thanks, Barry," she said sadly. "But, we'll talk about that some other time."

"I'd love for you to meet our friends," Tommy said, taking his sister's hand. "Will you come back to our place for the reception?"

"I'd like that," Carolyn said. "I took a cab here, but..."

"We can give you a ride, if you want," Frank said. He and Jody and Rob had just approached the newly married couple to add their congratulations. "So, you're Tommy's sister, huh?" Frank said. "It's obvious that you got all the good looks in the family."

Carolyn was a little taken aback by that, but Tommy laughed and then he and Frank hugged, so she relaxed. Tommy introduced them all to each other, and Frank said, "Come on, Carolyn. We've got a rental car parked at the Lookout Point back there."

"I'm surprised you wouldn't just take the usual mode of transportation," Barry chipped in discreetly, giving Rob a hug.

Frank shrugged. "Well, it's summer, and we wanted to see some sights. So we flew into YVR and rented a car. We're driving up to Whistler, tomorrow."

"Oh, you'll love that. It's a very scenic route," Carolyn said. She was looking at Jody now, whose pregnancy was becoming obvious. "Thanks. I'll definitely take you up on that ride," she said to them.

"Let's go, already," Gail said, poking Barry. "It's gotta be, like, two hundred degrees out here! Why couldn't you guys have gotten married in December, or something?"

Barry threw back his head and laughed. Gail and her hatred of the heat. It was good to know that some things never changed. But, he was glad that some things did: he and Tommy were married now. Married. He still couldn't believe it.

"So we'll meet you back at your place, then," Frank said. "I've got the directions, so it shouldn't take us too long. How are you and Tommy getting there?"

"Cas and Gail are giving us a lift," Barry told Gail's brother, giving him a quick wink. Barry took Tommy's hand. "Take good care of my new sister-in-law, Frank," he said, nodding his head towards Carolyn.

"Of course I will," Frank responded. "Any sister of Tommy's is - well, nothing to us, but you know what I mean."

Gail hit her brother on the arm. "Stop joking around like that. Carolyn's going to think you're a whacko."

Frank looked at Jody. "Do you want to take a crack at that?" he asked his wife.

"Nahhh. Way too easy," Jody said. She touched Carolyn's arm. "Come on, let's go. I need to sit down and rest my feet. Plus, I'm starving."

They began to walk away, and as Carolyn passed Cas, she gave him a smile. He smiled back, but no words were exchanged.

"Let's go!" Gail urged again, and the Angels took the newlyweds' hands and started to lead them towards the parking lot. They didn't have a car, of course, but there were guests here from the casino and from the newspaper, as well as others from the gay community, who had no idea that they and some of the other guests were otherworldly beings. But as soon as they walked past the trees and were out of sight, they vanished.

"I can't get over how beautiful that song was," Barry was saying to Gail. He had a glass of wine in his hand and was waving it around. Gail was amused. He was getting pretty tipsy now. But it was his wedding reception, so he was certainly entitled. "But I thought you were scared of singing in public," Barry added.

"I am," she replied. "As it was, I nearly chickened out. But Cas encouraged me, and I knew how much it would mean to you." She looked around the room. "It's neat that you have so many people from the casino here. A couple of them remembered me and Cas, from back at that time. But I am curious about one thing: I thought you guys were going to go for a fancier reception. What changed your minds?"

Cas approached the two of them with a glass of wine in his hand. He gave it to Gail, then put his arms around her waist from behind and gave her a squeeze. She smiled, thanking him for the wine.

"Yes, I was curious about that, as well," Cas remarked.

Barry was silent for a moment. Then he glanced across the room at Tommy, who was introducing his sister to a group of his former colleagues from the newspaper staff.

"We used the money we were going to spend on a splashy reception to buy a grave and a headstone for Wyatt," Barry told the Angels. "His body was sitting in the hospital morgue unclaimed, and it was eating Tommy alive. He knows first-hand what it's like to be rejected by your own family due to your sexual preference. And, let's face it, they did have a relationship for a number of years. They were just going to dump the poor guy in an unmarked pauper's grave. So we discussed it, and we decided that compassion was far more important than a fancy-ass venue, or a chocolate fountain. I hope you guys don't mind."

"Mind?!" Gail exclaimed. "That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

"That's just another example of why men like you and Tommy deserve to go to Heaven," Cas said softly. He moved out from behind Gail, and the two of them exchanged a look. They weren't going to say anything to their friends about it, especially not today, but the latest rhetoric coming from Patricia's camp was that she was considering reinstating the same ban on homosexuals being able to ascend to Heaven that Xavier had been trying to push through back in the days of the tribunal.

"His headstone inscription was a bit of a head-scratcher, but eventually, we came up with the simple: 'Loved By Many'," Barry told the couple, smiling. "Wyatt would have liked that, I bet."

"Yes, I think he would have," Cas agreed.

"Do you think he'll make it to Heaven?" Barry asked the couple.

Cas still had a hold of Gail's free hand, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. How could they answer a question like that? The disposition of Wyatt's soul would be a moral dilemma, which would have to be dealt with in November.

"I'm very happy to see Tommy's sister here," Cas said, changing the subject.

"What a surprise that was," Barry said. He raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't have had anything to do with that, would you?"

"Me?" Cas said innocently. "Why would you think that I had anything to do with it?"

But he had, of course. When Cas had attended the men's stag party a week prior to the ceremony, Tommy had confessed that he was very sad that none of his family members would ever get to know and love Barry. Tommy's family had basically disowned him quite a few years ago because of the fact that he was gay, Tommy had told Cas, but Tommy still held out hope for his youngest sister, Carolyn. She had been a lot more open-minded than the rest of his family, but she had also been under their thumb. Now, she would be all grown up, but Tommy had no idea where she was, or if she would even want anything to do with him.

That had put a bee in Cas's bonnet, so when he'd gone back to Heaven, he had asked Kevin to do a computer search on Carolyn, to see if he could locate Tommy's sister. Kevin had found Felicia for Ignatius way back when, hadn't he? And Kevin had come through. Luckily, Carolyn had gone back to her maiden name after the divorce.

So Cas had popped over to Indiana and knocked on Carolyn's door, telling her about the upcoming nuptials. She had cried happy tears, telling Cas she would love to reconnect with her brother, and she would be very glad to attend the wedding. She had something to tell him anyway, she'd told Cas shyly.

Tommy brought Carolyn over to where Barry and the Angels were standing, and he grabbed Cas, giving him a big bear hug. "Thank you, Cas," Tommy said in a thick voice. "Thank you so much."

Cas hugged him back as Carolyn said, "I may have let it slip who it was that came to see me," she said, smiling.

"That's all right," Cas said mildly, patting Tommy on the back. "As long as the two of you are happy."

"Happy?!" Tommy exclaimed. "Are you kidding?" He came out of the embrace. "My little sister is pregnant!"

"No way," Barry said, astonished.

"Way," Carolyn quipped. She put one arm around Tommy and the other around Barry.

"And...because she's divorced now and all alone, I was kind of sort of hoping you could open up that big heart of yours and say that it's okay for Carolyn to move in with us and stay in the spare bedroom that Rob was going to be in," Tommy said to his husband hesitantly.

"But only if it's really OK with you," Carolyn said to Barry. "The two of you just got married. The last thing I want to do is cause any problems between you. I know that a pregnancy is a big deal. That's why my husband and I split up. I wanted a baby, and he didn't." She looked down at her stomach. "But I guess God had other plans," she continued in a wry voice. "Pete and I hooked up one night a couple of months ago, when we were talking reconciliation. But when I found out I was pregnant with his baby and I told him, he told me to lose his number and slammed the phone down."

"That's terrible!" Barry exclaimed. "Of course you'll stay with us. As long as you're OK with the occasional display of affection between two guys, that is."

Carolyn smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not like the rest of our family, Barry. I think it's wonderful. Truthfully, I think it's a miracle that Tommy found somebody who could stand him long enough to commit to him, though." She poked her brother playfully.

"You sound like me, when I'm teasing Frank," Gail said delightedly. "Welcome to our extended family, Carolyn. It's going to be great to have another baby. Maybe you and Jody can correspond by e-mail, or on Facebook."

"I'm way ahead of you," Carolyn said affably. "She and I talked about it all the way here. And your brother is a really funny guy."

"Did he tell you that?" Gail said, smirking. "Ahhh, he's all right. Just don't tell him I said that."

"What about your family, Barry?" Carolyn asked her new brother-in-law. "Are they as closed-minded as ours?"

"No, they're all dead," Barry said sadly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said in a small voice.

Barry gave her a squeeze. "That's all right," he said. "I'm sure we'll all be reunited in Heaven one day. Tommy and I are looking forward to that."

Cas and Gail exchanged another glance. It was their responsibility to make sure that those reunions could take place, by ensuring that Patricia was not able to restrict Barry and Tommy's access to Heaven.

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Buzzkill, let me buy you a drink," Dean said, draping his arms around their shoulders.

Gail smiled. "Are you drunk?" she asked him.

"Getting there," he said cheerfully.

"Excuse us," Tommy said. "I want to take Carolyn to meet some more of our friends."

"I'll go with you," Barry said.

"How's the election going?" Dean asked his Angel friends.

Gail sighed. "It's going. I can't wait for November, though. I'm tired of giving speeches. Blah, blah, blah. It's all b.s. No wonder people hate politicians so much."

Dean grinned. "I'm not sure who I'm rooting for. It's a good thing we can't vote, 'cause I think I'd have to go for Bobby, or Cas. I get the feeling that Cas would be a way more compassionate God than you."

The Angels looked around quickly, but fortunately, there was no one listening. So Gail poked Dean and said, "Oh, yeah? Why is that, Mister Smartass?"

"Hey, I've seen that iron fist you rule with, first-hand," Dean retorted.

"OK, well, you know what? Laugh it up, Dean," she shot back. "Come November, Cas and I will find you, and we'll continue this conversation."

Now, he was looking a little disconcerted. "Sammy and I will just go out on the road, then," Dean told her.

"God sees everyone, everywhere, Dean," Cas chipped in, his lips twitching with amusement.

"Awww, crap," Dean groaned. "Well, I'll still take my chances with you, Cas."

Gail rolled her eyes. "Are you sure? According to Patricia, Cas is going to start a Holy War with Crowley the instant his butt hits the chair in the High Office."

Dean smirked. "She's kidding, right?"

"No, she's not," Cas responded. "Our poll numbers are not to her liking, so she has been making outrageous statements like that, hoping to change peoples' minds about us." His lips twitched. "Besides, if I wanted to start a Holy War with Hell, I would just summon Crowley and cut his throat."

"I'd keep statements like that to a minimum, during the campaign process," Sam said, approaching the group.

"Speaking of which, have you heard from Crowley lately?" Dean asked Cas.

"No, it's been blessedly quiet," Cas said happily. Then he frowned. "Maybe too quiet. Have either of you heard from him, or seen any Demons?"

"No, and no," Sam replied. "Just garden-variety monsters. Now that you mention it, it's been very quiet. I wonder what he's up to."

"Let's let sleeping dogs lie," Cas said to the brothers. He grabbed Gail's hand. "But for now, we'd better get back. I have an early class in the morning."

Sam grinned. "They grow up so fast," he said to Dean, who shook his head. "You're weird, you know that?" he said to his brother.

A few minutes later, after a round of hugs and kisses, Cas and Gail joined hands and popped out of the condo. She'd expected to see their suite in Heaven, but instead, he'd winked them over to their house on Earth.

"I thought we would take a little time for ourselves," Cas said, smiling at her surprised expression. "It's so seldom these days that we get to be alone together for more than five minutes at a time."

Gail began to smile then, too. "Finally, a Riley-free zone," she quipped. She put her arms around Cas's neck. "What a nice surprise. Give me a kiss."

Cas gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Can you give me about half an hour?" he asked his wife. "I wasn't joking about the early class. I've agreed to give a handful of students some extra training. I need to finish my lesson plan in preparation for that." He gestured to the small table that stood at one end of the living room. There were some papers strewn around on it.

Gail sighed. "OK, sweetie. I'll slip into something more comfortable, as the saying goes, and read for a bit."

"Thank you for understanding, my love," he said. "I won't be long." He headed towards the table, shrugging off his suit jacket as he went. Then he took off his tie, and unbuttoned the top couple of buttons of his shirt. And then, Lord help her, he started to roll his shirt sleeves up to the elbow.

He sat down and picked up a pen, and Gail took a deep breath. Have mercy. It had been way too long. Just the sight of her husband sitting there with his sleeves rolled up like that was making her weak in the knees.

She went into the bedroom and changed into a nightshirt, and then she came back out to the living room. Cas was still working quietly, so she selected a book from the bookcase and took it over to the couch. She lay down facing him and started to read. Or at least, she was trying to read, but it was hard to concentrate. This reminded her of the stretch of time between the night that she and Cas had become engaged, and their wedding day. Their abstinence back then had been due to an old-fashioned tradition. But now, it was simply due to the fact that she and Cas were so busy working and campaigning in Heaven that they were never together in one place for long enough to be intimate. She told herself that the situation was only temporary, and reminded herself that they were eternal beings. But why did he have to roll up his sleeves like that? She kept looking at him instead of looking at the book she was supposed to be reading. His forehead was wrinkled in concentration, and a lock of hair had fallen forward, over his eye. He had stuck a pencil behind his ear, and once he'd finished reading something and appeared to want to make a notation, he looked around on the tabletop. She realized he was searching for the pencil he'd put behind his ear, and that was so cute that she thought she was going to slide right off the couch.

Gail waited for as long as she could stand, and then she closed the book. She walked over to the table and stood behind him, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. "I'm going to watch some TV in the bedroom, in case you're interested," she said softly into his ear. Then she kissed his earlobe.

"Fine," Cas said absently, waving his hand.

Gail looked at him incredulously. The hand wave? He was giving her the hand wave? Me? she thought. After what I just said, and the way I said it? This was unbelievable.

She dropped the book she'd been holding on the table, and stalked angrily towards the bedroom. So much for their night of romance. She guessed she couldn't blame him for doing his job, but it was disappointing, and it hurt her feelings a little. She obviously wasn't alluring enough to take his attention away from his paperwork. "Let's face it, Ralph. I guess the bloom is off the rose," she said sadly. As usual, he had no answer for her.

Meanwhile, Cas continued to work for another couple of minutes, and then the light slowly dawned. He put his pen down immediately as his heart sank. What had he just done? He'd been concentrating so hard on his lesson plan that he hadn't even spoken to her. No wonder she was upset.

He popped into the bedroom. Gail was sitting on the end of the bed with the remote in her hand, but the TV wasn't even on. The expression on her face was so sad that Cas's heart broke a little. How could he have been so insensitive?

Cas took the remote from her hand as she looked up at him. He threw it on the nightstand, where it landed with a crash.

"You may have just broken that," she commented, and Cas shrugged. "Who cares?" he replied. "We may never watch TV in this room again." He pulled her to her feet and kissed her on the mouth. His tongue parted her lips immediately, and he pressed her body against his. She touched him through his pants, and he moaned against her mouth. "You are the most important person in the world to me, and it's been way too long," Cas murmured. "I humbly apologize." He undid his pants with one hand and pulled up her nightshirt with the other. Then he lifted her up and entered her immediately, as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I couldn't wait any longer," Cas breathed. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed into her aggressively. "I love you, Gail. I need you," he told her. "Always."

"Cas," she said, and then his mouth came down on hers again. They both whimpered, and then he was still.

He lay her down on the bed and quickly took his clothes off, tossing them across the room. Then he lifted her by the hips and his tongue was between her legs.

"Cas!" she cried out. Her hands flew to his head, and she pushed him closer to her, threading her fingers through his hair. "I love you! Please, don't stop!"

As if he would. He would do this all night, if she wanted. He loved her so much. He vowed never to let it go this long again, even if he had to march into her office, lock the door, close the blinds, and take her over to the couch. Maybe they wouldn't even make it over to the couch. Maybe he'd just sweep everything off her desk. The idea excited him so much that he waited until she was still, and then he moved on top of her, entering her again.

Afterwards, he rolled off of her and pulled her close. "I am so sorry, my love," Cas told her, once he got his breath back. "I vow to you that I will never ignore you like that again."

Gail was gasping for air, but she was smiling contentedly. "Feel free to ignore me more often, if that'll be the result," she said happily.

"Thank you for forgiving me," he said softly. He smoothed the hair away from her face and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Are you kidding? I think I just forgave you six or seven times," she quipped.

"I think I got so carried away because I just want to do a good job as an instructor so badly," Cas told her. "I don't want to let anyone down. All of those young Angels, looking up to me. Trusting me. You and Bobby, having enough confidence in me to set up the Academy in the first place."

"You're a wonderful teacher, Cas," Gail reassured him. "Even the fact that you care this much about it speaks volumes. I've seen you teach, and I've been taught by you, remember? And I can kick ass. Your students will do fine. Trust me."

She was so sweet. Her support meant the world to him, and so did her love. She was still smiling at him, but her gaze was penetrating now. "Go," she said.

Cas sighed. She knew him so well. "Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked her hesitantly.

"No, I don't mind," Gail said warmly. She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Maybe I actually will watch some TV, now. That's if you haven't broken the remote, that is."

"You are the sweetest, most understanding woman I have ever met," Cas said, cuddling her.

"I know," she said, smiling. "Now go and do your homework. The sooner you finish out there, the sooner you can come back and see me here."

So Cas got out of bed and put his shorts on, and then he popped back out to the table to finish his lesson plans. Gail shook her head slowly, still smiling. Working on lesson plans, dressed only in his shorts. Give her strength. She'd better stay in here, because if she went out there and saw that, she would never be able to let him finish.

She reached for the remote, and then, on impulse, she reached over to the other nightstand and grabbed Ralph. "He still loves us, Ralph," she said happily, hugging the stuffed penguin to her. "Let's watch some TV."

"I was at the Junior Seraphs' meeting yesterday, when Patricia spoke," Efram said to Cas.

They were both toweling off after doing some extracurricular mat work during the scheduled break. Efram was the young, red-haired cadet who had considered leaving the Academy that first day. Bobby had intimidated him into staying at the time, but after that first session, Cas had sat Efram down and had a private chat with him, and the young Angel had thought so highly of Castiel for that gesture that he'd decided to stay. Now, Efram felt the same way about Cas that Riley and many of the other cadets did. Cas was their teacher, their mentor, and their father, at least, metaphorically speaking. Efram hoped the definition would become literal, come November.

"Oh? Were you?" Cas said noncommittally.

"Yeah, and she was saying a lot of crazy things," Efram replied. "She was saying that if she wins the election, no Angel will be allowed to go to Earth anymore."

Cas frowned. "Unfortunately, that is part of her platform, yes."

"She also said that humans are harmful to Angels, and that she's just trying to protect us," Efram continued. "She said that humans want to kill Angels."

Cas pursed his lips angrily, throwing his towel across the room. "That's ridiculous," he snapped. "I've spent years and years on Earth with humans, and the only entities that have tried to kill me in all that time have been Angels." His eyes flashed. "She's just showing her prejudice."

"She also said that she's going to take the document with the new laws that your wife and the board wrote, and set fire to it," Efram went on.

Cas had picked up the wooden knife he'd been using from the mat, and he was holding it in his hands. This statement of Efram's made him so angry that he snapped the knife in two. The nerve of Patricia. All of that hard work down the drain, and for what? There was nothing wrong with the new laws as written, nothing at all.

"She will throw us back into the Dark Ages," Cas said through gritted teeth.

"She also said that she plans on instituting morals laws," Efram persisted. "Any public displays of affection will be prohibited, up to and including holding hands. And she singled you and Gail out as examples of the worst offenders. Her words, not mine," Efram added hastily when he saw the expression on Cas's face.

Cas's eyes flashed again, brighter this time. "She did, did she?" He flung the broken knife to the ground. "Well, I have some words of my own. You go out there and tell all of your friends that if they vote for Patricia, they will be voting for a dictator. She will systematically take away our Free Will and our choices, until we are no better than slaves. If you never want another moment's happiness, vote for Patricia. But if you want love, happiness, and freedom, vote for myself, or my wife, or Bobby."

"I will, Cas. Thanks," Efram said, smiling. "I'll see you after break."

So Efram spread the word, and it didn't take very long for Patricia to hear about what Cas had said. Predictably, she was livid. How dare he call her a dictator? She was merely trying to uphold the standards of morality to which all Angels should adhere. Just because Castiel strutted around Heaven like he was Lord and Master of all he surveyed didn't mean he wasn't a sinner, himself. But his poll numbers were incredibly high, and she was starting to feel like she was running out of time to turn things around. So she had begun to make increasingly inflammatory statements, hoping to make Castiel lose his temper and do something to sabotage his own campaign. But it wasn't happening. And Pamela and Scott had both talked a big game, but neither of the young Angels had been able to compromise either candidate.

It was time to escalate. She buzzed Velma. "Can you ask Alan to step into my office, please?" Patricia asked her secretary.

Alan entered a couple of minutes later, closing the door behind him. He grinned. "Does this mean that you're ready to deploy me out into the field?" he asked her.

Patricia frowned. "I don't see that we have a choice. We have to find the smoking gun. I can make all of the accusations I want, but I need more information, and hopefully, proof of wrongdoing. When Bobby and I went down to Earth, there were rumours that Castiel had done something horrendous in Egypt. I'm hoping to obtain the details on that. Then, if you visit the other places where the Tablets were obtained, I'm looking for anything he did, or was involved in, that we could use to turn public opinion against him."

Alan was still grinning. "Leave it to me. I was a private investigator when I was alive. I specialized in cases where people were cheating on their spouses. But no matter how much people try to hide something, it always comes to light, if you know how to dig. If there's any dirt, I'll find it."

"Oh, there's dirt. I'm sure of it," Patricia responded confidently. She wrote down the names of the cities where the Tablets had been obtained and handed Alan the piece of paper. "Please report back to me if you find anything I can use. I'm writing my notes for the debate on October 31st, and I'd love to have a few more bombshells to drop."

"Yes, Ma'am," Alan said cheerfully. He took the piece of paper and winked out of her office.

Class was done for the day, and Pamela and Cas were alone in the gym. Riley had apologetically advised that Scott had called him from Gail's campaign office. She was due to speak to the Ladies Of The Lord first thing in the morning, and Scott and Liz wanted to make sure their candidate was well prepared. Could Riley give them some advice? After the fiasco with the Heavenly Hostesses, they'd wanted to be sure she was better equipped to speak to conservative women's groups.

Cas had been pleased that the spirit of cooperation was still alive and well between their teams, and he was happy that Scott had reached out to Riley to help Gail. It was funny, though; after all this time, he had still not met Gail's co-campaign manager. Cas made a mental note to arrange an introduction as soon as possible.

But for now, because Riley had to leave, Pamela had volunteered to stay behind to help Cas pack up for the night. She smiled inwardly. Finally, the opening she'd been looking for. Scott hadn't really needed Riley's help, of course. The brother and sister team had been brainstorming, trying to figure out how to isolate their targets. Scott's request to Riley had simply been a way to buy his sister some alone time with Castiel. Then, she had promised to return the favour, enabling Scott to be alone with Gail in the future.

Pamela and Cas put the weapons away in the cabinet, making small talk while they were doing it. Then he said, "You don't have to help me with the mats, Pamela. It's been a long enough day for you as it is. We'll just leave them down until tomorrow."

"Actually, Cas, can you do me a favour?" Pamela asked him shyly. "I'm still having trouble with attacks from the flank. If you're not too tired, do you think you could work with me a bit on that?"

Cas smiled wearily. He was tired, but he couldn't refuse a student in need. Besides: "Gail had a lot of trouble with that move, too," he told her. "Maybe it's a female thing."

Pamela laughed softly. She knew by now that Cas liked to be rewarded when he said something that was even slightly humourous. He gestured to one of the mats, and then he said, "I'm going to attack you from behind, and then we'll go from there." He started to move behind her, but suddenly, he attacked her from the side. She hadn't been expecting that, so he knocked her down easily. Then he helped her up as she smiled wryly. "I know, I know," Pamela said. "An assailant won't give you any warning."

"Well, it's good to know that you're paying attention to what I'm saying, at least," Cas said to her. "Now, let's try it again."

They worked out for fifteen more minutes or so, and then Pamela decided it was time. So she grabbed Cas when he attacked her from her flank, and judo-flipped him down to the mat. And then, because he was always telling them to follow through, she jumped on top of him.

Pamela smiled. "I'm holding a knife to your throat right now, following through, as you've said."

Cas smiled thinly. "Very good. But, what will you do when I do this?" He seized her and flipped her on her back, straddling her.

"Yes, I'm very curious about that, too," Gail said, entering the gym. "What WILL you do?"

Oh, no, Pamela thought. Not again. Damn Scott. Either her brother was slipping, or he'd sabotaged her on purpose. Either way, she was going to have to have a little chat with him.

Cas bounced to his feet immediately, whirling around to look at his wife. He had no idea why he was feeling so self-conscious. If this had been a male underneath him, he wouldn't feel this way, would he? But he could understand how Gail might be feeling now. Twice, she had walked in on her husband and this young female student, in very close proximity to each other.

"I was just helping Pamela brush up on her technique," Cas said awkwardly.

Pamela was picking herself up from off the mat now, and she was growing angrier by the second. Damn it! Did the woman have some kind of super-sensor planted on her husband which alerted her to the presence of another female? When Cas had been above her after he had flipped her over, Pamela had been so excited by that move of his that she had nearly given herself away, right then and there. She wondered what would have happened if she had reached around his muscular thigh and undone the zipper of his pants. She could then have touched him, or done anything for him that he'd wanted, at that point. Patricia kept saying that Castiel was a sinner, who only cared about his own pleasure. If that was true, how would he have reacted to that? She and Scott had had a few recent conversations in which her brother had advised that Gail was working such long hours that she'd confessed to Liz that she and Cas hadn't been intimate with each other in ages. She hadn't been aware that Scott had been eavesdropping, of course, but when Gail and Liz got together to talk about personal things, their voices carried. So Scott had shared this little tidbit with Pamela, and because Patricia had characterized the couple as sex-crazed hedonists, the siblings had thought of Cas and Gail as easy pickings.

Gail was looking at Pamela coolly now. This was starting to look more than a little fishy to her. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, and you're a scheming little tramp. Yeah, Pamela was working on her technique, all right. Gail hadn't forgotten the extremely phony smile the young girl had given her the last time she'd walked in on Pamela, taking up too much of Cas's personal space.

"Which maneuver were you practicing?" Gail asked casually, moving forward.

"The attack from the flank," Cas told her. "The one you always had trouble with."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "You mean this one, here?" She grabbed him, and flipped him to the ground. "Lucky I don't have trouble with that one any more, isn't it, sweetie?" Then she looked at Pamela, giving the girl the most insincere-looking smile she could muster. "THAT'S how that's supposed to be done, dear," she told Pamela. "And, if you'll excuse us now, I need to talk to my husband in private. You'll probably want to take a shower, anyway," Gail added tartly.

Pamela turned on her heel and left the gymnasium as Cas picked himself up off the mat. "I'm sorry, my love," he said automatically.

"Don't be," Gail said to him. "I know you're not doing anything wrong. But you've gotta know that she's got a huge crush on you. Be careful with that one, sweetie."

He frowned. That hadn't honestly occurred to him. Was he that oblivious? But Cas trusted his wife, and he didn't want her to think that there was any funny business going on. How could there possibly be? Cas was totally and completely in love with his wife. The very thought of anything improper occurring between him and Pamela, or him and anyone, was ridiculous.

"I'll tell you what," Cas told Gail, taking her hand. "If she asks for any additional assistance in the future, I'll have Riley help her."

Gail smiled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "There you go," she said to her husband. "Problem solved."

VIGNETTE - MONSTERS LEAD SUCH INTERESTING LIVES

It was late August now, and Gail was helping Frank and Rob throw a baby shower for Jody. But, because it was for Jody, it wasn't going to be the traditional kind.

The first thing that Cas and Gail did when they got to the bunker was to set things up the way that they had discussed. They had drafted the services of the individuals that Gail called "the usual suspects". Even Riley had agreed to put business matters aside for a few hours in order to help make it a success.

How Gail wished that they could have brought Bobby with them, and Liz, too. But until the election was held, none of the non-designated Angels could leave Heaven. Since Bobby's status had been subject to a reset when he had died, he was no longer a designate. And, since Liz had never been to Earth as an Angel, she also didn't qualify.

But there was plenty of food, and liquor for the adult, non-pregnant humans, and Gail had planned what she hoped would be a fun game for Jody. Since she wasn't a stereotypical pregnant lady, Gail had thought her sister-in-law would enjoy a Hunter-themed murder mystery game. So she'd had the Angels pop down to the bunker, working with Sam and Dean to make preparations for the game, while she and Cas retrieved the other human guests.

When Gail had first come up with the idea, Dean had grumbled about having a baby shower at the bunker. "I don't wanna have to listen to a bunch of female stuff," he'd told Gail. She and Cas were sitting on the couch in her office, with Cas's cell phone on speaker on the coffee table.

Gail had rolled her eyes. "'Female stuff'?" she'd echoed. "What would that even be?"

"I don't know," Dean had responded uneasily. "Women get really weird when it comes to babies."

"OK, well, I don't even know where to begin to tell you everything that's wrong with what you're saying," Gail had retorted. Then, she reconsidered. "Actually, yes, I do. Number one: a baby isn't just a woman thing, you know. That kid is half Frank's. And you can call my brother a lot of things, and Lord knows I have, but a woman is not one of them. And secondly, you know that Jody is not your stereotypical female, so I'm not planning a tea-drinking, doily-making party. Trust me. It'll be fun. And the bunker is a way better setting for what I have in mind." Then she had grinned. "But your nervousness about so-called 'female stuff' amuses me. Maybe, if I win the election, I'll establish a gynocracy."

"What's that about guys?" Dean had asked, making Gail laugh.

So, once they were all gathered in the bunker for the party, Frank and Rob brought Jody there, and they all yelled, "Surprise!"

Jody grinned. "You got me, you guys. I never expected to have a baby shower here at Testosterone Town."

"Hopefully, that's not the only pleasant surprise," Gail said to her sister-in-law. "I know you can't drink right now, but we've got lots of food, and presents for you. But first, we're going to play a game. There's going to be a murder here at the bunker that we have to solve. I have a bag here that we're all going to pick from, that gives us each an identity. Then, I'm going to go around the room and whisper something in everyone's ear. I'll tell the victim that he or she is the victim, and I'll tell the killer that he or she is the killer. One of those could be me, too. Then, after our victim is dead, we'll have to solve the mystery using our deductive powers. It should be a breeze for you Hunters, but even for the non-Hunters, we'll have clues."

"Man, can't we just drink?" Dean whined.

"Normally, I would agree with Dean, but this sounds like it'll be kind of fun," Sam said.

"Oh, of course YOU would think so," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "I like to drink at parties, Sammy likes to think at parties."

"I see no reason I can't do both," Sam said, grinning.

"Yeah, but Dean's only got about one brain cell rattling around in his head," Frank chipped in, smirking. "And while I would usually be of the opinion that a murder mystery might be a bit lame, I'll bet you I can solve it twice as fast as you Lose-chesters. See what I did there?"

"OK, that's it. It's on," Dean said. "Gimme that bag."

Jody snickered. "'Lose-chesters.' That's pretty funny, actually."

Everyone drew their identities from the bag, and then, as the humans helped themselves to food and drinks, Gail went around the room, saying, "Now, I'm going to send everybody to wander around. Go to different rooms, and when you hear me scream, come to the kitchen and we'll find our victim."

"I thought you said that YOU could be the victim," Sam pointed out.

"OK, Sammy. Nobody likes a smartass," Gail said, imitating Dean. Everyone laughed. "Fine," she continued. "I'm not the victim. But pay attention, 'cause I could be the murderer." She circulated around the room, whispering in everyone's ear, and they all began to disperse.

"Maybe Nicole and I will just go to my room," Dean half-joked.

"Fine, but just remember that any number of us Angels can pop into your room at any time," Gail pointed out.

Nicole elbowed Dean. "Come on, it sounds like fun," she told him.

Gail waited until everyone had gone in different directions, and then she popped the designated victim over to the kitchen. "Wait here," she instructed the victim. Then she found the designated murderer, and did the same. They pretended that the murderer had killed the victim, and then Gail popped the killer back out, went back to the kitchen, and then she screamed: "Murder! Murder most foul!"

Frank had been in the garage, so he was the first one to get there. "'Murder most foul'? Really?" he said to her.

Gail shrugged. "You know how much I like old-time murder books. I've just always wanted to say that."

Frank looked down at the floor. "Poor Barry. And he's a newlywed, too. Or, he WAS."

Barry was laying spread-eagled on the floor. Gail had grabbed the ketchup from the fridge and squirted it onto his neck, his chest, and the side of his head.

Frank bent down on one knee, looking at the "corpse", and sniffing the air. "What are you doing?" Gail asked her brother.

"Checking for wounds, and to see if he evacuated his bowels when he died," Frank wisecracked.

Barry wrinkled his nose. "Ewww," he said.

"Shhh. You're supposed to be dead," Gail admonished him.

"For how long?" the victim asked her. "I wanted to put in some of those sausage rolls that I know Jody likes."

"Just until everybody finds your body," Gail told him. "Now, shut up."

When everyone was gathered in the kitchen, Gail said, "As everybody can see, Barry is our unfortunate murder victim. He's a human chef, who was minding his own business, cooking like crazy for the lady of the hour, when someone, or someTHING, took him by surprise. Note the bloodstains, signifying the site of his wounds." After a moment, she said, "OK, Barry, you can get up now." She waved her hands over him, cleaning the ketchup off of his shirt.

"How come he gets to get up, if he's dead?" Rob asked.

"A logical question, young Sherlock," Gail said cheerfully. "The short answer: because your mom likes sausage rolls."

"Huh?" Rob said, confused. Frank grabbed his son and tousled his hair. "Never mind, kiddo," Gail's brother said. "Just concentrate on the dastardly murder. And he was so young, too. Are you gonna remarry, Tommy?"

"You're a laugh a minute, aren't you, Frank?" Tommy said dryly.

"Thank you, I'm here all night. Try the sausage rolls," Frank quipped.

"Speaking of which, the dead chef needs some elbow room, here," Barry said good-naturedly. "Is there any way you can take this investigation to another room, Inspector Gail?"

"Yeah, like the room with the bar, maybe?" Dean added optimistically.

"OK, Mister One-Track Mind," Gail said, shaking her head. They all trooped down the hall to the library area. Dean and Frank helped themselves to drinks, and Jody and Carolyn fixed plates of food for themselves. Out of necessity, Barry and Tommy had filled Tommy's sister in on the fact that half of the individuals attending the party would be Angels, and that Cas and Gail were currently in the running for the position of God. After she had checked the tap water in their Vancouver condo for hallucinogenics, the men had called Chuck on his cell phone, who had popped down for a quick demonstration. They hadn't wanted to bother Cas or Gail at that point. They knew their friends were extremely busy these days. So Carolyn was in the loop now, although she kept on looking at the Angels curiously, as if she still couldn't quite believe it.

"So, who wants to go first?" Cas said to everyone now.

"I will, just to get the ball rolling," Gail said. "I'm a ghoul."

"Yes, and I'm a boy," Sam wisecracked.

Carolyn laughed around a mouthful of food, spraying Dean with some crumbs. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized, grabbing a napkin to wipe his arm.

"Are you kidding? You and I are gonna get along just great," Dean told her, grinning.

"What's the point?" Becky said, a little irritably. On the one hand, she was happy to have been included. She had even wrapped up a couple of kids' books she had enjoyed when she'd been a little girl that Chuck had given her, telling her she could give them as a present. By now, they had all found out that Jody was expecting a girl. But Becky was annoyed to see Gail and Sam standing so close together. They were practically touching each other, for goodness sakes. Gail already had Cas; what was she trying to prove?

But Gail misunderstood the tone of Becky's voice. Maybe their friend was having trouble following the game. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't explain the rules well enough," Gail said.  
"No, I think it's pretty straight-ahead," Kevin commented, prompting a dirty look from Becky. Yeah, sure. Mister Smarty-Pants would know. He was just trying to embarrass Becky because he'd never forgiven her for breaking up with him.

"Yeah. We've all got an identity of a different entity. If we identify ourselves, we can ask each other questions, to determine if we could have killed Barry," Chuck piped up.

Now Becky was glaring at Chuck. Obviously, he also hadn't forgiven her for dumping him in favour of Sam. She was going to have to get Sam soon, before her list of vindictive ex-boyfriends grew much longer.

"Correct," Gail said, nodding at Chuck. "And, as an added bonus, we've included a special power for some of you, and a way you can be killed. You know, just for fun."

"Coolest baby shower ever," Riley remarked.

"I agree," Nicole said, smiling.

"Me, too," Jody added. "Especially since my paper says I'm a Hunter. And, since it's my party, I'm going to do a lot of killing."

"I knew I should have cleaned up my room this morning," Rob quipped, and Tommy said, "Up top." He and the boy high-fived, and Frank said, "Hey, you're supposed to be a grief-stricken widower, aren't you?"

Tommy shrugged. "I'll learn to love again," he joked. He and Frank laughed.

"You'd better not let Barry hear you say that, or you'll be the next murder victim," Ethan said to Tommy, and they all laughed.

"I'm afraid I don't know very much about monsters, only ghosts," Quinn piped up.

"Don't worry. Sammy and I will help you," Dean told her.

"I won't," Frank said, his mouth full of food. "I wanna win this thing."

"Dad, you're so competitive," Rob remarked.

"Well, so am I, so let's get back to the game," Nicole said. "So, Gail's a ghoul. Try saying that five times, fast. What are you, Becky?"

Becky looked down at her piece of paper. "I'm a human," she replied.

"Well, that's disappointing," Jody said. "I guess I can't kill you, then."

"Tell that to the LAPD," Ethan wisecracked. Jody looked at him curiously. Sometimes he had a really weird sense of humour. And she was married to Frank, so that was saying a lot.

"We wanted to mix it up a bit," Gail said to Becky. "Most of us are monsters, but we wanted a bit of variety, too."

"I think it's really fun," Quinn commented. "Can we playact? I'm a werewolf. Ruff."

"So am I!" Riley exclaimed. "Rowr."

"Oh, good. We'll be a werewolf couple, then," Quinn joked. "Here, I'll put a little extra meat on my plate. They like that, right?" she asked Sam.

He grinned. "At this point, I would usually try to ward you off with something silver, but seeing as it's you, I guess I won't."

"I'm something called a 'djinn'," Tommy said. "There's a bit of a description here, but you guys are going to have to help me out with my character," he said, nudging Dean.

"I'm a banshee," Carolyn piped up now. "Seems fairly self-explanatory."

"And I'm a human," Cas commented. He smiled. "It's been a while since that's been the case. I suppose I should eat some food, then."

"Awww, man, I'm an Angel," Chuck whined. "I was looking forward to stretching my acting skills."

"Sorry, Chuck. Luck of the draw," Kevin said to his friend. Then he smiled. "I'm a Demon. This should be fun. A license to behave badly."

"I'm a wraith," Rob said, looking at his piece of paper. "Interesting."

"And I'm a Wendigo, which is pretty coincidental, actually," Nicole said. Dean looked at her, startled, and she laughed. "I just meant because I'm interested in Native culture," she told her boyfriend.

"OK, well, I'm actually a serial killer, so at least I'm a scary human," Becky said hesitantly. She still thought the game was kind of dumb, but she knew this was the kind of thing that Sam liked. Becky had better play along, or they wouldn't invite her to stuff anymore.

"So, I take it that any one of us could have killed Chef Barry," Kevin remarked now. "Was there supposed to be a murder weapon, or is that part of the mystery?"

"It's part of the mystery," Cas told him. "You saw that there were 'wounds' on his head, and his torso. You or I or Becky could have killed him with just an ordinary kitchen knife. Or you could have used a Demon knife, or Chuck, an Angel blade. I think we need to find out more about the monsters in the room, to see if they could have inflicted those injuries, as well."

Riley played along. "Well, I guess Quinn and I could have gotten tired of waiting for those sausage rolls, and taken a bite or two out of the chef, instead."

As if on cue, Barry came out to the library with a couple of trays of hot hors d'oeuvres.

"Hey, Barry, who killed you?" Dean asked their friend, and Barry smiled. "Gail told me you would probably try that," he said to Dean. "You can forget it. I'm not that easy."

"Come on, Dean, quit trying to cheat," Gail admonished him. "Play the game. What are you?"

"I'm a djinn, too, apparently," Dean responded.

"What is that, exactly?" Carolyn inquired.

"It's a creature whose person leaves its victims in a comatose state," Sam explained to her. "People think djinns are genies who grant wishes - "

" - I have so many jokes running around in my head right now," Frank interrupted, smirking.

" - But they aren't, and they don't," Sam continued. "What they do is cause hallucinations that are so powerful that the victim thinks they're reality. The victim has to commit suicide in the fantasy in order to escape the fantasy."

There was silence for a moment. "Way to bring down the room, Sam," Tommy said dryly. But then, he smiled. "I prefer to stick with the illusion of granting wishes, if it's all the same to you guys."

"Just remember that sentiment, for later tonight," Barry said, winking at his husband, blowing him a kiss. "Eat up, everyone. I've got more food coming."

"Now there's a guy who commits to a part," Frank quipped. "Well, I'm a boring old ghost. Nothing fancy. Maybe I killed the chef because he refused to serve spirits in his restaurant."

"Good Lord, Frank," Chuck said, rolling his eyes. "I don't know if that's the worst pun you've ever made, or the best."

"Well, guess what? I'm a cannibal," Ethan chipped in. "There's got to be a really good joke in there about a chef and a cannibal, right, Frank?"

"Give me a second," Frank said, frowning in concentration. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

"Wow, a cannibal, eh?" Quinn said slyly. "You must be partial to finger foods, then."

Frank looked at her. "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship," he said to Sam's girlfriend.

"OK, who don't we have, yet?" Jody asked everyone. "I'm the Hunter. I'm taking names now, so I can kick some metaphorical ass, later." She looked at Sam. "What are you?"

"I'm a shapeshifter," Sam told her. "So it'll be hard for you to kill me, because I can take the form of anyone here."

"Yeah, he could turn into one of you women any time, now. In fact, you could argue that he already has," Dean wisecracked.

"OK, so, now that we all know what we are, the game can continue," Gail said. "Chef Barry was overpowered and killed, with wounds to the head and chest, and he didn't or couldn't fight back. Each of us has a special quality or two that makes us fully capable of doing the dastardly deed. For instance, I'm a ghoul, and I feed on humans. So, I came to a restaurant filled with people. Turnabout is fair play, right?"

Frank smirked. "Right. But the chef wasn't eaten. So, that eliminates you as a suspect. And I'm a ghost. All I could do is scare him to death. So, I'm not the murderer, either. There. I said it. Now my wife doesn't have to kill the father of her child, and I can bartend. Win-win."

Rob was reading from his piece of paper. "I'm a wraith, so I feed on human brain fluids. Cool."

"OK, not cool. Yucky," Becky said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, but highly effective. I'm willing to rule Frank out as a suspect, although Dean and I have seen vengeful ghosts do some pretty violent stuff over the years. But, I also wouldn't mind having a bartender," Sam added, grinning. He drained his drink. "I don't think we can eliminate Gail as a suspect, though. Ghouls can take over human forms. Therefore, she could have inhabited one of us to do it."

"This is getting kind of complicated," Nicole remarked.

"I guess I'm out," Ethan said aloud. "I'm just a cannibal, not an otherworldly being. Therefore, since he wasn't eaten, it can't be me." Then he looked at Sam. "And with all due respect to your deductive reasoning, Sherlock, I think you're making things unnecessarily complex. I'm ruling Gail out as a suspect."

"Isn't Ethan the head of the Law Enforcement Department in Heaven?" Quinn asked Sam. "So, I think we've gotta defer to his expertise and give him this one."

"Yeah, 'cause we've got so many monsters in Heaven," Riley said, smirking.

"You're being kind of rude to your werewolf wife, there, aren't you, Riley?" Sam joked. "Well, that's OK. You're both eliminated, anyway. Chef Barry didn't have a bite taken out of him. So if Inspector Angel over there will agree, Riley and Quinn are off the board, too." Ethan grinned, giving Sam a brief salute.

"And, even though I get mad at him sometimes when he leaves the cap off the toothpaste, I still love him far too much to murder him," Tommy said.

"This is pretend, remember?" Jody said around a mouthful of sausage roll. "You could totally have done it."

"I live with them, so I agree," Carolyn quipped, poking her brother in the ribs.

"Well, I'm a human food critic, so I suppose I could have done it, if his food was truly awful," Cas said, smiling. He thought this was a lot of fun. He was enjoying all the interaction between their family and friends.

"Fine. I won't give you any, then," Barry sniffed, pretending to be offended. He had just come out of the kitchen bearing more plates of food.

"You realize what a hollow threat that is, right?" Chuck said to Barry. He grinned. "Here, I'll help you. Even though I suppose I can't be eliminated as a suspect, because most Angels are dicks, right, Dean?"

"Some more than others, Chuck," Dean called out, and everyone laughed, even Chuck. He had learned to take Dean's insults as a sign of forgiveness. Well, that was the premise he was going with, anyway.

"Well, I'm a Demon, so I could totally have done it," Kevin said gleefully. "And I wouldn't even need a reason, 'cause I'm a Demon! We know THEY'RE all dicks!"

"Well, the subjects do tend to take on the personality of their leader," Cas quipped.

"Anyway, back to the game," Sam said, trying to focus everyone. Frank and Dean rolled their eyes. He was so into this. What a nerd. Sam continued, "Since I'm a shapeshifter, I have superhuman strength, speed, and agility - "

"What is this, a murder mystery, or a monster job application?" Nicole quipped, and Dean high-fived her smartly.

"Yeah, but don't you have to shed your skin to become whoever you want, sort of like a snake?" Chuck asked Sam, who looked at him in surprise. Chuck shrugged. "Not that I'm super-eager to remind you guys, but I did write those books, you know, and I did do research for them."

"So that would eliminate Sam as a suspect, because there was no skin shed at the site of the murder," Cas said, nodding. "Who are we left with, then?"

Gail looked at her husband. "I'm with Becky on that visual image: ewwww. But, Cas is right. That leaves us with him, Dean, Rob, Nicole, Becky, Chuck, Kevin, Tommy, and Carolyn, as suspects."

"Me and Tommy are djinns. Our eyes or hands glow blue when we access our power, and we have the ability to go into peoples' dreams," Dean advised everyone.

Tommy grinned. "At the risk of being a little off-colour, I confess that my fellow djinn here has probably made at least one appearance in the murder victim's dreams. I know he has in mine," he said, raising an eyebrow. Dean did a double-take as Tommy drained his drink and asked Frank for another.

"Blue glow? Sounds more like Cas," Kevin commented.

Gail smirked. "Too bad I don't sleep, because I could use that line about Cas being in my dreams, too," she quipped. Then she looked at Tommy. "And you can keep any additional comments about Cas to yourself, Mister." The two of them laughed.

"But Barry was dead, not comatose, so Dean and Tommy are off the list," Frank said.

"That was very astute, Frank," Quinn complimented him.

"I agree," Ethan said, nodding his head in approval. He looked at Rob. "Tell me more about your character. A wraith, you said?"

"Yup. I can suck a person's brain dry," Rob said proudly.

"I can think of a couple of men in this room Rob's been at already," Jody said dryly, and the women all laughed.

"I can induce insanity," Rob continued. "One of my favourite places to hang out would be at an asylum, 'cause of all those crazy peoples' brains, I guess. Oh, and my true form will show itself if a person looks at me in a mirror. Sounds pretty cool. I might write a story about that sometime."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances. It sounded like Rob thought that these monsters were just too cool for school, but the reality was always a lot more horrifying. Hopefully, Frank was giving him some perspective on the subject at home. When Frank had dropped in for a beer the last time, he'd advised the brothers that he'd finally given in to Rob's pleas and had started training the boy in the basement of their house, like his father had done with him. Frank had asked Sam and Dean for their permission to use the bunker's training room when they were out on the road, and they'd given him their blessing. Frank still had the key they'd given him way back when, and he'd promised that he would always check first, before just barging in.

"Wait a minute," Becky said suddenly. "So you mean that if a person looks at you in a mirror, they'll see that you're a monster?" she asked Rob.

Rob glanced at the paper again, just to make sure. "Yeah, that's what it says here."

"Then I don't think it could be you," she said. "Isn't there a reflecting strip on the top of the stove?"

"That's brilliant, Becky," Tommy stated. "So we can eliminate Rob now, too."

In one brief, shining moment, everyone looked at Becky with admiration. Even Sam. Truthfully, she'd even surprised herself with that one.

"I'm a banshee, who uses my screaming voice to drive people insane," Carolyn said, her lips twitching.

"And if you've ever heard her calling to us that breakfast is ready, you know that's the truth," Tommy quipped.

Carolyn elbowed her brother in the side, smiling. "It sounds like Rob and I should team up," she remarked. "I can drive 'em nuts, and he can eat their brains." She paused, then grinned. "That's a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself utter. Shut up, Tommy."

"Yeah, but insanity isn't death, so you should be eliminated, too," Riley said, quite logically.

"You guys are getting really good at this," Gail remarked, smiling. "But I have to say, we should have made a side bet, 'cause I think the Angels have made more deductions than the Hunters, so far."

"That's because they don't have the distraction of all this great food. Thanks for doing all of this, Barry," Sam said. Chuck and Barry had just brought out more platters of hot hors d'oeuvres, and now, some desserts had made their appearance. Sam grinned. "This is starting to remind me of Christmas at Cas and Gail's house," he went on. "Are you sure you're not the killer, Chuck? Maybe you're trying to make us so full we'll forget all about trying to solve the crime."

Becky was growing impatient now. This was starting to drag on. "I'm sure Jody wants to open her presents, so I'll confess right now," she said. "I'm not the killer."

"Uhhh, I don't think that's how confessions are supposed to work," Chuck said dryly. "But, having said that, neither am I." He actually kind of agreed with Becky. It was all fine for the humans, who got to eat and drink. But then, he chided himself. If Laurel was here, she'd be telling him to be quiet. This wasn't all about him; it was Jody's day. Chuck wished Laurel could be here with him, but since everybody was in stasis in Heaven right now, she was unable to come to Earth. If Bobby or Cas or Gail became God, Chuck was going to ask them for permission to bring Laurel with him to Earth in the future.

"You guys are so impatient," Dean remarked, and Gail stared at him incredulously. Wasn't he the one who'd been grousing about this whole thing in the first place? But it seemed like his competitive instincts had been awakened now. "OK, lemme sum this puppy up," Dean continued. "Cas is a human, and he's a food critic. He coulda done it. But my girlfriend here is a Wendigo. She can lure her victims by imitating human voices. Then, when she gets them, she can feed on them for long periods of time."

"That's how I got YOUR attention, in the first place," Nicole joked. She reached out to put her plate on the library table. Unfortunately, she was smiling at Dean so she missed, and it fell to the floor with a clatter, spilling the remnants of food on the floor. "Oh, crap. Sorry about that," she said, crouching to pick up the mess. "Too bad I don't have those elongated limbs the Wendigo's got. I could have used them a second ago."

"What's 'Wendigo' mean, anyway?" Ethan asked curiously.

"It's Cree for 'evil that devours'," Nicole said automatically. She was down on her knees, picking the food up off the floor.

"Better be careful not to piss her off, Dean," Frank wisecracked.

"Here, let me help you," Quinn said to Nicole. She got down on her knees beside Dean's girlfriend and started picking up bits of food too, putting them on the plate that Nicole was holding. Her hand accidentally brushed Nicole's arm and suddenly, Quinn had a vision of Nicole and Dean, naked and in bed. She nearly laughed. Fortunately, those kinds of visions didn't happen often. Who the heck wanted to be seeing things like that about your friends all the time? Quinn really liked Nicole, and the psychic was dating Dean's brother. What if she were to see something really kinky? She would never be able to look them in the face again. But, just as Quinn moved her hand away so she wouldn't be in contact with Nicole any more, Nicole reached out and touched Quinn's arm. "Thanks for helping," she said to Sam's girlfriend. "That was clumsy of me."

And that additional touch was enough to do it. Now, Quinn was seeing Nicole on top of Dean, straddling him. But this time, she plunged her hand into his chest and ripped out his heart.

Quinn gave her head a shake. No. That couldn't be a vision, obviously. She was just channeling all this monster stuff. They had just been talking about an evil entity that devours. That had to be it. Ever since the night of the movie premiere, Quinn and Nicole had gotten along so wonderfully then that they'd been corresponding regularly. And, as girlfriends do, they had shared some personal details with each other about their relationships. Quinn knew that Nicole and Dean hadn't been to bed together since right before Dean and their group had gone to Madagascar, and that Nicole felt kind of bad about keeping Dean at arm's length in Hollywood. So Quinn was sure that her vision had been a garbled version of these things. Her gift had never been an exact science.

"But if what you are telling us is that you keep your victims alive so that you can feed on them, then you can't be the murderer," Cas said to Nicole. He looked at Sam and Dean for confirmation, and they nodded.

"Cas is right," Nicole agreed. "It's not me."

"Remember, everybody, I'm a Demon," Kevin piped up cheerfully.

"I think you're a little too happy about being a Demon, personally," Carolyn said, bemused. Once she'd gotten over the initial shock of Tommy and Barry telling her that half of their extended family were Angels and the other half were Hunters, she had been able to accept what they were saying with a fair amount of equanimity. Of course, she and Tommy knew all about Good vs. Evil. They'd grown up in an extremely religious atmosphere. Unfortunately, their parents had been so fanatical that they had disowned Tommy once he'd confessed to them that he was gay. As if that was a sin, or something. Carolyn herself didn't believe that it was, despite her upbringing. She was younger than Tommy, so she had been stuck at home with those people after her brother had left. But as soon as she'd been old enough, Carolyn had gotten out of there. That was probably why her marriage to Pete hadn't worked out. She had been in such a hurry to get out of that place that she hadn't taken the time to consider whether she was going from the frying pan straight into the fire. But at least she had gotten the baby she'd wanted, and in a few months, the next baby shower would be for her.

Kevin grinned at her comment. And why shouldn't he be happy? Coming to the bunker and seeing Sam here finally no longer traumatized him, and he was glad to be included in this group when it came to social occasions. He was back on the board that was helping to make important decisions for all of the Angels, and he'd been helping the campaign teams for all three of his friends. Just think: soon he was going to be friends with God. There was no way Patricia was going to win.

"Oh, yeah? How'd you kill Barry, Kevin?" Jody said skeptically, licking chocolate from her fingers. Kevin opened his mouth to retort, but he was slow in doing so, and Jody made a buzzing sound. "Too slow," she said, putting her plate down on the table. "So, guess what?" She strolled over to Cas and pointed her finger at him. "It's you. You're the killer."

"Very good, Jody," Cas said, nodding his head. "I am."

"Awww, man," Rob groused. "So we had all these cool monster suspects, and the killer turns out to be a human?"

"Cas, I thought you were my friend," Tommy quipped.

Jody looked at her son. "Here's the cool part," she said. She walked over to Gail. "It's my shower, so I get to kill all the monsters, right?" she asked Frank's sister.

Gail smiled. "Of course. That's one of your presents."

"Fantastic," Jody said. She looked at Rob. "Watch and learn," she told her son. Then she looked at Gail again. "So, since you're a ghoul, I'm going to take this extremely sharp butter knife and decapitate you." Jody moved on to Sam. "And, since my magic knife is also silver, I'm going to stab this shapeshifter right in the heart." She looked at Dean. "Oh, and I dipped it in lamb's blood, too, so that takes care of you and Tommy, the djinns. I snuck out of here while you guys were all babbling and burned my husband the ghost's bones. Now, I'm gonna stab my son the wraith in the heart with this same all-purpose silver knife. Aren't I just the best mom in the world?" she said, her lips twitching furiously. "And then, because silver can kill just about anything we've got here, I'm going to ask the werewolf husband-and-wife team of Riley and Quinn to stand close together so I can run them both through at once with my trusty knife. I'm pregnant, and I'm getting tired now. As for our friend Nicole the Wendigo, she's going to require a bit more special treatment. She saw me cutting a swath through everyone else and it scared her, so she ran into the kitchen, where Kevin the Demon was setting fire to the place, just because he's a snotty little Demon brat. Nicole burnt to death in the fire, and then Chuck the Angel helped me out by killing Kevin the Demon with the Demon knife he always carries in case of emergency. And while that was going on, I grabbed that candlestick over there and killed Carolyn the banshee with it, because banshees can be killed by weapons of gold. Then, I arrested Becky and Cas."

"Me? Why me?" Becky exclaimed.

"Because you're a self-confessed serial killer," Jody said with a smirk. "You made that admission yourself, earlier. So, I arrest you and Cas, and cart you both off to jail."

"What about me?" Ethan asked her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jody said, shrugging. "You're a cannibal, so you'll stay behind and eat all the bodies, removing all traces that we were ever here."

"Oh, my God," Rob said, open-mouthed. "You're, like, the coolest mom ever."

"My wife, ladies and gentlemen," Frank said proudly. "Mother of my child, and total badass."

"And that's a Hunter baby shower," Gail announced, and she and her brother high-fived.

"I have to admit, that was pretty good," Dean said grudgingly.

"That's why it's just as cool to study the lore as it is to run around shooting stuff," Sam said to Rob.

Frank and Dean smirked at each other. "Don't look at me, he's your brother," Frank said.

"I'm just trying to tell Rob how important it is to educate yourself," Sam protested. Then he grinned. "And then, you can go in there and kick ass, like your mom did." He looked at Jody. "Way to go, Jodes."

"Thanks, Sam. Now I need to sit down, again," Jody said, easing into a chair. "And if it's not too crass to ask, can I open my presents now?"

As they all gathered around to watch her do so, Carolyn asked Jody, "Are you going to use a midwife, or a doula?"

Jody laughed shortly. "Screw all that trendy nonsense. I'm gonna have my baby the old-fashioned way: in the hospital, dead from the waist down, and stuffed to the gills with every legal drug known to medical science. In fact, I might even get one of my former cop buddies to raid the evidence locker and get me a couple of illegal ones," she joked.

"Doulas," Frank scoffed. "It's all New Age b.s." He smiled slyly. "I'll bet you doulas to doughnuts a man thought of that."

Their friends groaned at the pun. Then Gail said, "Hey, speaking of trends, I heard of something called a 'push present'."

Jody perked up. "Oh? What's that?"

"I'm not really clear, but I think it's an extra present the woman gets for having to go through all that labour," Gail replied.

"Then again, I'm always willing to embrace new concepts," Jody quipped.

"Have you given any thought to names yet?" Cas asked her.

Jody gave him a half-shrug. "Not really. We talked about just waiting till she comes out, and seeing what she looks like."

Cas's forehead wrinkled. Didn't babies all look pretty much the same, especially when they were newborns?

"Well, not to steal your thunder, but the Ultrasound showed I'm having a boy," Carolyn said to Jody and Frank.

"Hey, congrats," Frank said. "So we'll have one of each flavour, then. Good stuff."

"I was thinking of Zachariah; Zach, for short," Carolyn remarked. "What do you think, Cas? I guess I wanted a nice, Biblical-sounding name."

Cas's lips twitched. "I knew an Angel named Zachariah once," he commented, looking at Dean. His best friend grinned. "We had a bit of a...contentious relationship," Cas continued, and Dean gave him a nod of acknowledgement. Yep. That was a bit of an understatement, to say the least. Cas had had to kill Zachariah to protect Dean from the Angel. That was one of the many times that Cas had saved Dean's bacon from those dicks who had been running Heaven at the time. But soon, Cas might be the one in charge of the whole deal. They would have to have one hell of a party when that happened.

After Jody opened her gifts, she thanked everyone, then stifled a yawn. "Well, it's been great, but I think I have to call it a night," she told them all. "The bigger I get, the more tired I get." She hugged Gail. "Thanks for the murder mystery. It was nice to live vicariously, for a little while."

"I'm glad," Gail said, hugging her back. Jody wasn't normally very demonstrative, so Gail was touched by her gesture.

"Before everybody leaves, I have an announcement to make," Chuck said. "Richard called me a couple of days ago, and he offered me the job. I've started writing the script about our heroes going to Romania, to get the Hell Tablet. It's going to be a real blockbuster."

"Chuck, that's wonderful news," Cas enthused, shaking his hand.

Gail rushed over to hug her friend. "Congratulations, Chuck!" she exclaimed.

"And it's all thanks to you," he told her warmly. "If you hadn't pushed me into it, I would never have shown him my work in the first place. Don't worry; you'll be the smartest, cutest, strongest woman the show's ever had."

"Standing right here," Jody quipped, and everybody laughed.

Frank elbowed Sam and Dean. "Come on, you guys, make yourselves useful. Help me take the baby loot out to the car."

"What about me?" Rob asked Frank. "What do you want me to do?"

"You're gonna help clean up in here, until we get the car loaded," Frank said to the teen. "You're still a bit too young to hear some of the jokes I want to tell these guys."

Rob sighed, but he started to pick up the dirty dishes. He knew how much his dad hated it when he complained. Now that Rob was maturing a bit, he'd started to realize that helping out a little wasn't the end of the world. All of the men helped out around here, pretty much. And Rob was getting what he had wanted from his dad now, too. Frank had finally agreed to train Rob as a Hunter. All Rob had to do was meet his parents halfway, and he found that they were all getting along much better.

"I'll help, too," Cas told Frank eagerly. "It's the least I can do, seeing as Gail and I have been around so infrequently, lately." He grabbed a couple of presents, following the Winchesters down the hall towards the garage.

"Damn it," Frank cursed. "Now I can't tell that great election joke I had about his caucus," he wisecracked. He picked up a couple of gifts and followed the men down the hall as Gail and Jody looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Geez, if he doesn't consider THAT too adult for you, I'm really curious to hear what you're missing," Tommy said to Rob. "Maybe I should help out with the presents, too."

"I'll help clean up the kitchen," Gail volunteered. "If I use my powers, we'll be done in a couple of minutes."

"Well then, by all means, use 'em," Barry said, letting out a breath. He plopped down in the chair beside Jody. "We deserve a rest." He looked down at her legs. "Foot massage?" Barry offered.

"Gail, I'm divorcing your brother for Barry," Jody called down the hall.

Barry smirked. "I can see a couple of problems with that."

"Only a couple?" Jody quipped. He started to rub her feet, and she moaned loudly. "And I'm willing to overlook them."

"He gives wonderful foot rubs," Carolyn said, smiling warmly at her brother-in-law. "He and Tommy take very good care of me."

"Keep this up, and I'm moving to Canada," Jody rhapsodized.

A few minutes later, everyone was ready to do their separate ways. "We may not be able to come to Earth again for a while," Cas told their human friends and family. "Our schedules are extremely heavy from now until November. But please don't hesitate to call my cell phone if anything urgent comes up. I have it with me at all times. Even if I'm working out with my cadets at the Academy, I will turn up the ringer and leave it on the table."

"The only occasion I can think of coming up is Gail's birthday," Frank said. He looked at his sister. "That is, if you still want to celebrate it on October 3rd."

Gail was taken aback. She hadn't really thought about it, one way or the other. She shrugged. "Let's not worry about it this year. Like Cas said, we're so booked right now it's ridiculous. But it's not that big of a deal. We've only got 2 more months, pretty much, and then it'll be over." She looked at Jody. "You're not due till the end of November, right?"

Jody nodded. "That's right."

Hugs and kisses were exchanged, and then the Angels all went back to Heaven.


	4. Wondering Where The Lions Are

Chapter 4 - Wondering Where The Lions Are

As the month of September elapsed, the elections process became even more of a grind. The Angels in Heaven began to fragment into factions, depending on which candidate they supported. Older vs. younger, men vs. women, conservative versus progressive. And each candidate had extremely vocal, fervent supporters.

Gail and Liz were slightly amused by the whole thing. They had regular "strategy" meetings in Gail's office, but if it was just the two of them in attendance, they would usually just chat. Eventually, the two women had filled each other in on their lives since being separated when Gail and Frank had had to leave home. Liz had hardly changed. She was still the same open, optimistic person she'd been back then. Gail found it very easy to confide in her, and vice versa. Gail had admitted to Liz a while back that she didn't actually expect to win the election. She hoped that didn't bother Liz. But, true to form, Liz had just shrugged and smiled. No, it didn't bother her. She was just happy to be hanging out with, and helping, her friend. Liz didn't want Patricia to win, either, and she agreed that anything they could do to lure votes away from her was what they should be doing. If any of the other 3 candidates won, they would all win.

For her part, Gail really wanted Cas to win the election, now. She'd told herself that she'd be OK with Bobby winning, or even herself, but the longer the campaign went on, and the harder she'd seen Cas work, the more she really wanted him to win. In fact, she'd considered dropping out more than a few times, to work full-time on his campaign. But it was those stupid poll numbers that always kept her from doing so. If Riley came into her campaign office with one more poll predicting dire results if she were to drop out, she was going to tell him to roll up the paper it was printed on, and stick it right up his...

"I don't know where Riley gets all those statistics from," Liz was saying now. "If there's a sector in Heaven he hasn't polled, I'm sure I don't know what it could be. Maybe one-legged hermaphrodites whose first names begin with an 'R', or something."

Gail looked at her, and the women burst out laughing. Once Gail composed herself, she quipped, "And, let me guess: Rhonda slash Ryan thinks that Heaven might be ready for a female God too, right?"

She was joking, of course, but that was the entire reason she was still staying in the race. The stupid poll numbers that Riley persisted in producing kept suggesting that many large factions in Heaven could very well be ready for a female God. So Gail couldn't drop out, because that would leave Patricia as the only female option.

Patricia had been making them all a little uneasy for quite a while now, but she projected a confident, professional image in public. She occasionally made inflammatory statements while on the campaign trail, thinly veiled insults about the other candidates, or ominous references to the ancient ways that made them all nervous. But none of them had any clue about how unhinged she really was, or how far she was willing to go.

Alan was sitting in Patricia's office, giving her his preliminary report.

"After a lot of digging, I found the former Governor," Alan was telling her. "He no longer lives in Egypt, of course. He received so many death threats from his own people after the Plagues that he had to go into hiding. But I found him, and he was more than willing to tell me all about how Castiel brought death and destruction down on all those innocent citizens. Some hero."

Patricia sat back in her chair, thinking. This was definitely a start, but it wasn't enough. "Yes, but we can't take the word of one disgruntled human, alone," she told her investigator. "From everything you're telling me, this man also let those things happen to those people. As much as it pains me to admit it, had he capitulated sooner, all of those deaths could have been avoided."

Alan let out a frustrated breath. "All of that may be true, but I haven't told you the best part, yet. This guy told me that, near the end of the whole thing, Castiel brought an Englishman to his office, a shorter guy with a neatly trimmed beard who was wearing a designer suit. Now, who do you suppose THAT could have been?"

Patricia started to smile. Now they were getting somewhere.

But now, Alan was frowning. "I know, that's what I thought, too. But then I had time to think about it a bit more, and I don't think that's our smoking gun, either. Let's face it: the hardline conservatives, the same ones who are going for you, will think even more highly of Castiel for having had the courage to implement the Old Ways in order to get what he needed to vanquish Lucifer. This could backfire on us, making him into even more of a heroic figure. And even the fact that the King of Hell was there helping Castiel instead of aligning himself with Lucifer will probably work against us, too. They're gonna say that speaks to Castiel's diplomatic skills. And if you're alleging that Castiel will start a Holy War with Crowley if he wins the election, it's going to be a hard sell if the Angels find out that the two of them were taking tea with the Governor, all nice and civilized, working together to defeat Evil."

Patricia pursed her lips angrily. He was right. This could very well backfire on her, if it was spun correctly.

"But I haven't given up yet," Alan told her. "I'm moving on to Paris next. As near as I can figure out from the timeline, it took them a little longer to obtain the Tablet there, and they were mixed up with some pretty unsavoury individuals while they were there. Maybe there's some dirt to be had there."

Patricia sighed. "All right. I'll wait for your report."

Cas was sitting on the couch in their suite looking over the speech he was due to make in a few minutes when Gail walked in. He dropped the pages on the coffee table and rushed over to the door, taking her in his arms.

"What a wonderful surprise!" he exclaimed, kissing her on her lips.

Gail smiled. "Same here. Let's not get too excited, though. I'm only here to change clothes, and then I have to head right back out."

Cas sighed. "I know. Me, too. But you have a couple of minutes, don't you?"

"Screw it, I'll be late if I have to be," she said, kissing his face. "It's been way too long since we've seen each other. Liz was joking that she was going to hang one of your campaign posters up in my office, so I could at least see you once in a while."

Cas took both of her hands in his. "Come and sit down for a moment, so we can talk."

As Cas was leading Gail over to the couch in their suite, Patricia was taking a tour of Heaven's jail.

"What brings you here today, Ma'am?" the officer at the front desk asked her.

"I'm just making the rounds to all of the various departments," she said casually. "I'm doing an informal poll, asking everyone about improvements they'd like to see in Heaven, should I win the election. May I look around for a bit?"

"Certainly, Ma'am," the young officer said respectfully. "Allow me to show you the facility."

As they walked around, the young Angel was excitedly telling Patricia his ideas for improvements to be made to the penal system, but she was hardly listening. She wasn't there for any poll, of course. She was looking for something very specific, and then, once she'd found what she had come for, there was an unexpected bonus.

"This is our surveillance room," the officer told her. "We have cameras in quite a few places around Heaven, not just the jail cells. Most Angels don't know that. When Jason was in charge, he liked to keep an eye on pretty much everything."

Hmmm. Patricia looked curiously at the control panel. There were a few monitors that were turned off, and they were not labelled. "What are those?" she asked the officer.

"Those are the ones that are hooked up to the Executive Residences," he responded. "We keep them off due to privacy concerns, but they can be activated, if need be."

"The Executive Residences?" Patricia echoed.

"Yes, Ma'am. The Honour Suites," he explained.

"May I see, just for a moment?" she asked innocently.

The officer turned on the monitors, and Patricia began to smile. Sure enough, there were Cas and Gail, sitting on the couch in Matthew's Honour Suite. "Can you send a link to those cameras to my computer?" she asked the young officer. "And while you're doing that, put your ideas for improvements in writing, and send them to me at the same time. If I'm elected, I promise that you will receive a commendation, and a promotion."

He smiled. "Yes, Ma'am."

Later in the day, Gail and Scott were in the boardroom. He was helping her set up for the next morning's meeting. As well as being her co-campaign manager, Scott had become Gail's personal assistant. It had happened so gradually that she was barely aware of it, but she had availed herself of his services because it was hard enough to keep track of where she was supposed to be and what she was supposed to be doing from one moment to the next. Liz was Gail's dear, dear friend, but she was a little scatterbrained at times. Scott kept the trains running on time, and he kept them focused when they got too carried away, giggling and chatting.

Scott was following Gail around the boardroom table. She was putting printed agendas in front of every spot, and he was just improvising conversation, talking about the campaign. Gail was too preoccupied to notice, but even though Scott's talk was professional, his eyes were roving over her body. His sister Pamela had failed miserably in her plan to seduce Castiel, Scott thought with great amusement. Of course, the fact that Scott had encouraged Gail to go to the Academy to see her husband those couple of times when he knew his sister was trying to get Castiel alone couldn't have helped.

Scott hadn't intended to try to seduce Gail, not at first. Unlike his sister, who had ants in her pants for Castiel, Scott was more or less indifferent to his erstwhile boss. But Gail was kind of cute, she had curves in all the right places, and Scott did so enjoy a challenge. Gail dropped one of the agenda packages on the floor and bent to pick it up, and Scott grinned. He was standing right behind her now. If he took even one step forward, his crotch would be touching her rear end.

Gail had no idea what was going on behind her, of course. And even if she'd seen Scott standing so close, she probably wouldn't have realized what was happening. Cas had been her first, and he was her only. She had never been the target of a seduction before; at least, not that she had been aware of. She would never have imagined that any guy would ever try anything like that with her. She was hardly a fashion model, and besides, look who her husband was. Considering Cas's reputation, a guy would have to be crazy to try anything like that with her.

But Cas came walking into the boardroom at that moment, and he stopped short, clearing his throat.

Scott stepped back immediately, and Gail picked the agenda up off the floor, turning around. "Hi, sweetie," she said. "We were just getting ready for tomorrow morning's meeting."

Cas's eyebrow was raised. That might be what his wife had been doing, but that wasn't what he'd seen this young male doing.

Scott saw Cas's expression, and he rushed forward towards Gail's husband, seeking to mitigate the damage. "Castiel! Finally, we meet! How do you do, Sir?" he said enthusiastically, extending his hand for a shake. "I'm so glad to meet you, at last. Gail talks about you all the time."

Cas took his hand. "And, you are...?" he prompted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Scott," the young Angel stammered. "I'm just so overwhelmed to be meeting an Angel of your stature, Sir." He pumped Cas's hand.

Gail's husband was assessing him now. So, this was Scott. He looked and spoke like young Riley had, when Riley had first met Cas. But there was something about Scott that just didn't ring true. If he respected Cas that much, then why had he been standing so close to Gail a moment ago, leering down at her? For that was what he'd seen. Cas was sure of it.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my office now," Scott said, releasing Cas's hand. "It was an honour and a pleasure meeting you, Castiel. I hope we'll be seeing a lot more of you." Then he turned to Gail. "I'll see you later, Boss," Scott said to her with a quick smile. Then he hurriedly left the boardroom.

Gail put the agendas she was still holding in her arms down on the boardroom table and approached her husband, smiling. "Wow. Twice in one day. Lucky me." She went to put her arms around him, but he was frowning now. What he'd just witnessed had really bothered him. On the rare occasions he'd had the chance to talk to his wife recently, she had been raving about Scott, extolling his virtues as an assistant. Cas knew that Scott had spent a lot of time helping Gail. But now, he was concerned that Scott wasn't at all what he appeared to be.

"I just remembered, there's somewhere I'm supposed to be," Cas told his wife. He kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry, my love. I have to go."

He rushed out of the boardroom as Gail stared after him, puzzled. Now, what the hell had that been all about? Then she sighed. Cas's schedule was at least as crowded as hers was, if not more so. That was why they never saw each other anymore. If she didn't have Scott leading her around all the time, she would probably have forgotten about a dozen meetings by now. Boy, would she be glad when this was finally over. She went back to the table to finish distributing the papers.

Cas knew where Scott's office was, of course. So the instant he'd left the boardroom, he popped over to the young Angel's office to wait for him. Because Scott had walked there, Cas was already inside when he got there.

When Scott let himself into the room and closed the door behind him, he was startled to see Cas standing there.

"I know what you're doing," Cas said coolly. "Or, rather, what you're trying to do."

"And what's that?" Scott asked him.

"Don't give me that," Cas snapped. "I saw you back there, even if my wife didn't."

Scott stared at him. So, this was the real Castiel, now. Patricia had been right. The guy was an arrogant jerk. He shrugged. "Even if I was doing anything, which of course I don't admit to, what do you care?"

Cas was incredulous. "What do you mean, what do I care? Gail is my wife!"

"In name only these days, from what I hear," Scott said insolently. So what if Cas got a little riled up? Scott had Gail wrapped around his little finger now. She didn't make a move without consulting with him, first.

"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?" Cas asked, his jaw clenching.

Scott shrugged. "If you can't, or won't, take care of your wife, maybe I should."

Cas's eyes flashed angrily. Scott had to be kidding with this. Cas reached into his jacket, took out his blade, and approached Scott slowly. "How dare you speak about Gail like that?" he said in his most quiet voice. But this situation was troubling Cas on several levels, now. Not only was Scott risking his own personal well-being by making Cas this angry, but the young Angel was speaking as if he knew something about their personal life that he would have no business knowing. In a way, Scott was correct; unfortunately, it had been a while since Cas and Gail had been able to be intimate with each other, mainly because they had been burning the candle at both ends. They were seldom in the same room together for more than five minutes. And even when they were, they were either exhausted from overwork, or due to appear somewhere in minutes. They had just been talking about that dilemma this afternoon, when they'd spent that precious few minutes with each other in their suite.

But there was no possible way that Scott could have known about that. None. Gail's assistant was probably just fishing. Speculating. He knew how crowded their schedules were. But Scott had found a sensitive spot. Cas HAD been feeling like he was neglecting Gail. Perhaps he should ease back on the campaigning a bit, and ask her to do the same. But, how dare Scott talk about Gail with so little respect, as if she would be fair game for the young Angel's attentions?

Cas stood staring at Scott, twirling his Angel blade casually in his hand. "Because my wife advises that you have been so helpful to her, I will give you one more chance. But, only one. If I ever catch you looking at Gail or talking about her like that again, I will come to talk to you once more. And the next time, our talk will not be nearly as pleasant."

"Either put that thing away or use it, Castiel," Scott said calmly. "Your choice. But, killing a fellow Angel in the midst of your campaign for the High Office? Probably not a wise career move."

Cas put the blade away slowly, but he continued to stare steadily at Scott. "If you think for one moment that I put anything, ANYTHING, above my wife, you will soon learn differently," he growled. Then he popped out of Scott's office.

He reappeared in the boardroom a moment later, startling Gail a little. She was setting up the Power Point program on the computer now. "I thought you had a thing," she said to him.

"I have a wife," he said by way of a response, "and she's the most important thing in the world to me."

Gail smiled. "Aren't you sweet. Well, if you'd like to have a seat, I need to get this set up, and then I'll be right with you."

Cas sat down on one of the chairs, and she said, "Actually, I'm glad you're here. If you're ever at a meeting that I'm unable to attend, you should know how to work this, too. Here, let me show you." She switched the monitor on, shining the screen on a whiteboard behind the head of the table. "So, you click on here, and when the drop-down menu appears, you just select the presentation you want. Then you touch the screen like this - " she demonstrated " - and then touch this button to start the slides."

Gail was thrilled with herself. She'd always been a little technologically challenged. Laurel had offered to do it for her during the meetings, but she had wanted to learn how to do it herself, and now, she had.

Cas was sitting there, patiently trying to follow along. But it seemed a little bit complicated to him, and quite honestly, he didn't really care.

"Cas? Did you get that?" Gail asked him. He said nothing, because he wasn't really sure what to say. He didn't, but he didn't want to say so, because he didn't want her to have to start all over again.

"Cas! Gail turned around to look at him. He was just sitting there, smiling at her. "Do you have any questions?" she asked her husband.

"Yes, I do," Cas replied. He rose from his chair, approaching her. "Would I need to touch you that many times, in that many places, to get a successful result?"

Gail started to smile. "Yes," she said pertly. "Yes, you would." Actually, it had been so long for them that all he would probably have to do would be to look at her for one more minute with that raised eyebrow of his. But, she was no fool. If he was offering, she was accepting.

Cas backed her up against the table and kissed her on the mouth, using his tongue. His body was pressed up against hers, and she could feel through his pants how excited he was, already. An instant later, he had winked them over to their suite.

"I've been neglecting you lately, and for that, I sincerely apologize," Cas murmured. He waved his hands, and a bouquet of roses appeared, laying on the coffee table. "What colour says 'I'm deeply sorry'?" Cas said charmingly. He kissed her again. "I can get a bottle of wine, if you'd like. Wine is romantic, is it not? It's what all of the couples drink in the movies."

Gail smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but at this particular moment, all I need to feel romantic is you." She winked them into the bedroom mid-kiss, and they started taking each other's clothes off right away. He swept her up in his arms and lay her down on the bed, entering her immediately. He pushed into her aggressively.

"Please say it, Gail," Cas breathed.

"I love you, my husband," she told him, holding him tightly.

"You are my wife and my one true love, and I place you above all else," he said in her ear, and a moment later, they were both crying out.

About an hour later, when they were resting, Cas was cuddling Gail, and she was smiling. "I'm sorry I've been so neglectful lately," he told her softly. "I've been so busy making up lesson plans, marking exams, and spending time with students who need extra work. So I'm mentally tired from teaching, physically tired from training, and weary of Riley chasing me around, giving me new poll results every five minutes. Pestering me to make more speeches, and campaign appearances."

Gail nestled herself in his arms. "I know exactly what you mean," she told her husband. "I've been working almost as hard as you have. We've been having a bunch of board meetings, and I've formed a subcommittee to serve as the Suicide Adjudication board, when we're ready for the influx of those poor people. And then, I'm dealing with Liz and Scott. They're pushing me to appear in more and more places, too. I miss you so much, but I keep telling myself it's only for a couple more months. We'll just have to grin and bear it, sweetie."

Cas nodded. She was right, as always. But it was so difficult. For a couple who were as close as the two of them were, being apart for any measurable amount of time felt like a physical ache in his stomach, and in his chest.

"I love you, my darling," he sighed. She rolled over to face him, and a few moments later, they were making love again.

It had to happen eventually, and so eventually, it did. Cas and Gail's campaign teams double-booked them to speak to a youth group called Guys And Girls For God.

The two of them showed up to the auditorium, pleasantly surprised to see each other. But their campaign managers were not.

"What are you guys doing here?" Riley asked Liz.

"What's it look like?" she replied. "Gail's speaking. What are YOU doing here?"

"CAS is speaking," Riley said. He had his candidate's agenda in his hands, and he was looking at it now. He found the entry, showing it to her. "See?"

"Well, I don't have Gail's schedule here with me, but they called this morning to confirm. I'm sure of it," Liz said, flustered.

"So what?" Gail said, shrugging. "We'll both speak." She smiled at Cas. "You'll be doing us a favour, actually. It'll be the first time I've laid eyes on him in days."

Liz and Riley exchanged glances. "There's a reason for that," Riley said hesitantly.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Cas asked him curiously.

A moment's silence, and then Riley said, "Because it's a month and a half till the election, and the two of you are supposed to be rivals."

Gail got it. She looked at Cas, rolling her eyes. "So, they're keeping us apart because we're too friendly with each other," she told her husband.

Cas's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is that true?" he asked Riley.

"Well...it isn't untrue," Riley answered evasively.

"Oh my God," Liz said irritably. Gail did a double-take. It was so seldom that anything bothered Liz that the tone sounded strange coming from her friend. "What the hell kind of an answer is that, Riley?" Liz asked Cas's campaign manager.

The young Angel faced her. "Oh, come on, Liz. Don't tell me you haven't been doing the same thing," he accused her. "And I know Laurel's been doing it, too."

Cas and Gail looked at each other, startled. Was that true? Come to think of it, they hadn't seen Bobby in weeks.

"You can admit it, Liz," Riley persisted. "It won't make you any less of an Angel if you do. The truth is, we're getting close to crunch time, and the time for friendly co-existence is over. If you and your candidate don't really want to win, that's fine. But I do. I mean, Cas and I do."

"Oh, yeah?" Liz shot back. "Well, not only are we going to win, we're going to wipe the floor with you?"

Cas and Gail stood there bemused, watching Liz and Riley argue. Then they moved together and joined hands. Their campaign managers weren't even looking at them, so intent were they on their argument.

The couple winked themselves around the corner. "We're getting close to crunch time," Gail said to her husband, smiling.

"The time for friendly co-existence is over," he replied, answering her smile. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"I don't know if YOU want to win the election, but Riley sure does," Gail quipped. She kissed him, then touched his face.

"I'll have a talk with him," Cas said softly. He nuzzled her hand with his cheek.

"No, don't bother," Gail said into his ear. "It's almost October, and besides, this is sexy as hell."

Cas kissed her once more; a long, slow kiss, using his tongue. "I agree," he said, breaking the kiss after a minute. Then he smiled again. "I'll tell Riley that we'll be conducting completely separate campaigns from now on. And then, we'll sneak around behind his back."

They laughed together, and then they popped back over to where Riley and Liz were still arguing. Moments later, a young Angel popped his head out of the door that led into the auditorium.

"Castiel, we're ready for you now," he stated, and then he looked at Gail. "What are you doing here, Gail? You're not booked until tomorrow."

Riley glared at Liz. "Oops," she said, giggling.

Liz was a tad bit scatterbrained, Gail knew. But she was friendly, and she was sweet, and she was the most sincere and loyal friend that Gail had ever had. When the two of them got back to Gail's office, Liz plunked herself down on the couch, as usual.

"I'm sorry," she told Gail. "I guess I got the days mixed up. Maybe I should have checked with Scott, first."

Gail shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I meant what I said about it being nice to see Cas, if only for a minute or two. I'm only sorry that you and Riley had that argument. He's really a sweet kid, Liz. He's just getting a little carried away because he wants to help Cas so much. After this is all over, we'll get together socially, and you'll see."

"OK," Liz said amiably. "Oh, hey, I meant to ask you: did you ever read those journal pages that Sam gave you?"

"Come to think of it, no," Gail remarked. "I just put them in the bureau drawer of our suite. With all this election stuff going on, I figured I'd wait until after."

Liz was frowning now. "Well, seeing as you seem to suddenly have some free time on your hands right now, could you do me a favour and look at them?"

Gail's forehead wrinkled. "Why?"

"Because when we were little kids in that schoolyard, I think I might've seen your real father," Liz said sheepishly.

Gail was shocked. "What? Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Don't get mad," Liz said quickly. "I don't know for sure that it was him. But I think now that it might have been."

Gail sighed. She sat down on the couch across from Liz. "I'm not mad, just curious," she told her friend. "Can you tell me about it?"

Liz had seen the man before, once or twice, looking through the fence into the schoolyard, but she hadn't really thought too much about it. She was an innocent child, and when she and Gail had been kids, "stranger danger" hadn't been as much of a thing as it was now. Besides, the man wasn't doing anything. He never came any closer, and he never talked to any of the kids. Come to think of it, the only children he seemed to watch were her and Gail. And she and Gail were shunned by the other kids, and virtually invisible to their teachers. So, Liz had said nothing.

He had been there the day that Liz had opened up that cut on her head falling off the monkey bars, and he had witnessed Gail's healing of her friend. But Liz had been so freaked out about her bloody clothes and the miracle that Gail had performed that she had pushed the man to the back of her consciousness. But recently, probably because she and Gail had been reminiscing about their childhoods so much, it had come back to her.

"It was creepy," she said to Gail now. "He just stood there, staring at us."

"What did he look like?" Gail asked her friend.

Liz thought about it. "Tall. Dark-haired. Dark eyes."

Gail was puzzled. "Ummm...what's creepy about that?"

"I don't know," Liz said uncertainly, but she was shivering from the memory. "He was grinning, but not like he was happy, or anything. I don't know how to describe it, Gail." She thought furiously. "Wait a minute. Yes, I do. Remember that Stephen King story we read in your room that one night, when I slept over? The one about the grinning monkey with the cymbals?"

"Oh, yeah," Gail said, making a face. "Boy, that was creepy. Don't tell me he looked like that!"

Liz's lips twitched. "Well, except for the furry monkey face and the percussion instrument, yeah." Then she giggled.

Gail was used to her friend's outbursts by now, so she thought nothing of that. But she was picturing the man now, staring at the little kids that she and Liz were, grinning that grin, and the image creeped her out now, too.

"And then, he disappeared," Liz said suddenly.

"What?" Gail said. She'd been distracted by the mental images in her brain.

"He disappeared," Liz repeated. "Vanished. Poof. Like we do, now."

Gail's eyes widened. Was Liz saying her father was an Angel? But, how could that be? Unless...she remembered back to during the tribunal, when they had brought up the subject of Nephilim's, humans that were born of a coupling of a human and an Angel. Ibrahim had called those individuals "abominations", and he'd commended Cas for killing one. She felt nauseous.

"Wait here," Gail said to her friend. She popped over to the suite, retrieved the journal pages, and brought them back. She read them aloud to Liz with mounting horror and confusion. Was this Vincent guy her father? If so, Oliver must be her uncle, and that guy Andy, too.

"Great," she told Liz. "This just keeps getting better and better. One of my uncles is a dead psychic, one's a schizophrenic in a looney bin, and my dad's a full-blown psychotic. What a family. Looks like my family tree has Dutch elm disease."

"You'd better talk to Cas about this," Liz said in a quiet voice. She couldn't believe it. According to Oliver's journal, this guy Vincent had killed a dog and tasted its blood when he had been just a kid, and then he had pinned the crime on his poor crazy brother.

Gail nodded slowly. Yes, she'd better. But not right now. "I'm going to wait until after the election," she told her friend. "Things are just too crazy right now. No pun intended."

"I wonder what happened after that?" Liz speculated.

"Yeah, me too," Gail replied. "Sam said he'd let us know if and when they find some more pages. But I don't want to stir anything up this close to the election. Cas has got enough to worry about right now. You know how he is."

Liz smiled. Yes, she did. It was sweet how protective Cas was of her friend. A short while back, Cas had stopped by Liz's office to talk to her, asking all kinds of questions about Scott. What was he like? Did Liz trust him? Liz had answered his questions, of course, but she had been bemused. She'd teased him, asking him if he was jealous, and he'd smiled. But it had been kind of a funny smile. Then he'd left.

Gail stashed the journal pages in one of her desk drawers.

A week or so later, Cas and Gail were in a bar with Dean in a small town in Indiana. He and Sam had just wrapped up a spirit possession case there, and Sam had gone off to see one of those movies with subtitles he liked so much. Dean had tried to Skype Nicole, but she hadn't answered. What time was it in Italy, anyway? Hell if he knew. So he had called Cas's cell, asking if his friends wanted to come down for a quick visit.

They shouldn't, Cas thought. But they had been working so hard, and he had hardly seen his wife in days. And neither he nor Gail had seen any of their human friends and family since the baby shower in August.

So here they were, and Gail slid into a booth across the room from the bar. She was just as thrilled as Cas was to be there. She asked the men for a glass of wine, and then she asked Cas for his cell phone. He gave it to her, and she turned on the display immediately, touching the screen.

Dean looked at Cas, eyebrows raised. "What's with Mrs. Buzzkill and your phone?" he asked his Angel friend.

Cas smiled. "Gail is playing a new game. It's called Candy Smash, I believe. You move coloured candies around..."

"I know all about it, Cas," Dean said, holding up his hand. He smirked. Angels playing Candy Crush. Too funny. "Get us a drink, Cas," he instructed his friend, and he slid into the booth beside Gail.

Cas went obediently to the bar as Gail said, "Crap!" She was looking intently at the cell phone screen. Dean joggled her arm. "Hey. Scootch over," he told her. Gail moved over to give him some more room.

"What's the matter?" Dean asked her.

"This game is fun, but it's also soooo aggravating," she told him. "I'm about to get blown up. Look!" She put the phone down on the table in front of him, pointing at the screen.

Dean looked for a moment, and then he smiled. "Not if you do this," he said, touching the screen. Suddenly, all kinds of different-coloured candies came cascading down the screen, wiping out the threat.

Gail looked at him, astonished. "How did you do that? And, more importantly, how did you KNOW how to do that?"

"I'm smart, that's how," Dean bragged. "Here, lemme show you."

They kibitzed for a minute or two, and then Cas came back to the table, holding a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. He cleared his throat, and Dean looked up. "What?" he asked his Angel friend.

Cas gestured with his head, and Dean took the drinks from him and set them down on the table. "Sit across from us, like a normal person," Dean said to Cas, rolling his eyes. "I'm showing your wife how to crush candies."

Cas sighed. He sat down across from them in the booth. He'd been hoping to sit beside Gail, so he could hold her hand, or kiss her on the cheek. He sighed again, more loudly this time.

Dean shook his head. "Get over yourself," he said to Cas. "You guys are weird that way, anyway." Then he looked back down at the phone. "No, don't move that one. Move that one, over there," he told Gail, pointing. "Trust me." A minute later, she passed the level she'd been struggling to pass. "Thanks!" she exclaimed. She put the phone down on the table and kissed Dean on the cheek. "Now I know who to talk to, the next time I need help." She raised her glass of wine. "Cheers."

Dean clinked his beer bottle to her glass, and then he looked at Cas. "What's the matter, Sergeant Buzzkill? Why the long face?"

"He's just been working very hard, Dean. So am I, but Cas has a lot more pressure on him than I do," Gail told their friend. "He's leading in the polls now."

Dean was puzzled. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"You would think so, but every time I turn around, Riley is reminding me that I'd better not mess it up by saying or doing something that I shouldn't," Cas told him. "We're not even supposed to be here right now. Riley wouldn't like it."

Dean smirked. "Riley? Young Riley? Our Riley?"

Gail smiled, taking a sip of her wine. "You should see him now, Dean. You wouldn't believe it. He's like a little pit bull. He nearly made a grown Angel cry the other day, from what I heard."

"Get outta here," Dean said. "Cas, is that true?"

Cas nodded absently, but he was staring off into the distance. "It's true, Dean," he confirmed. "He upbraided an Angel in class for not paying attention. Said he was wasting my precious time."

Dean's smirk grew wider, but Gail was looking more closely at Cas now, and she saw that he was working his jaw, like he did when he was angry. "What's the matter, sweetie?" she asked him.

"I had an unpleasant exchange at the bar with a man who is sitting at a table over there," Cas told them, somewhat stiffly. "He has been staring at us ever since."

Now, Dean was really amused. That poor bastard had better not stir it up with Cas; he would have no idea of what he was getting himself into. "What did he do?" he asked his Angel friend.

"He bumped into me, and then accused me of making him spill his drink," Cas replied calmly.

Dean shrugged. "So what? Guy's an asshat. Just ignore him."

"That wasn't the problem, Dean," Cas continued. "He called me an obscene name, and - "

"THAT'S your problem?" Dean scoffed. He nudged Gail. "Being around all you Angels is making him soft."

Gail grinned, raising her wine glass. "Don't look at me. I'm hardly the picture of Angelic virtue."

Dean nodded. "OK, well, that's true," he agreed. She punched him on the arm. "Oww!" he exclaimed, and then he looked at Cas. "Hey, Cas, control your wife, willya?"

That was usually good for a smile or even a quip from his friend, but Cas continued to frown. "No, you don't understand, Dean," Cas said. "After he called me an obscene name, he looked over here, and called Gail an even worse one."

Dean's eyebrows shot up. "Well then, in that case, why aren't you over there, punching that guy's lights out?"

Cas's brow furrowed. "Because Patricia has been spreading the word all throughout Heaven that I am a violent brute, who will not hesitate to draw my blade at the slightest provocation. Because she is alleging that, if elected, I will immediately start a Holy War with Crowley. Therefore, I am trying to exercise more self-control in that regard. Riley has advised me that perception is the key. If I am perceived to be violent, then people will believe that I am violent."

Dean couldn't believe it. He looked at Gail. "Are you buyin' this?" he asked her.

She gave him a half-shrug. "It's really important for Cas to win the election, Dean," Gail said non-committally. "We can't let Patricia win."

Dean opened his mouth, about to make some kind of a smartass comment, but then he closed it again. Maybe he should keep his yap shut. What did he know about elections in Heaven? But, Gail was right: there was no way they could let Patricia win. He'd probably never see these guys again, from what they had told him.

SMASH! The man that Cas had had the altercation with had grabbed his beer bottle and broken it on the edge of his table. He approached their booth now, menacing Cas with the sharp end.

"You need to quit staring at me," the guy said angrily to Cas.

Cas couldn't help but smile. If he were to be honest with himself, a large part of him had been hoping the man would come over here. He was really, really trying to exercise self-restraint, but the name this man had called Gail was echoing in his brain, and his blade hand was extremely itchy.

He looked down at the bottle, and then up at the man's face. "You do not want to do what you're doing right now," Cas said to him. "I suggest you return to your table and leave us alone."

Dean had a half-smile on his face now. This was more like the Cas he knew. Self-restraint was one thing, but he couldn't let this ass-clown get away with murder, either.

But Gail was struggling with herself now. It was true, what Cas had been saying. Every word. And not only had Patricia been making all kinds of inflammatory statements about Cas, but her supporters had been going around Heaven defacing his posters, writing "HOLY WAR" and "KILLER" on them in red ink. So keeping a lid on his temper was probably a really good idea right about now. But, on the other hand, this wasn't Heaven. It was Earth, and if this drunken fool insisted on threatening Cas, didn't he deserve what would be coming to him?

The man swore at Cas, and a couple of his buddies came over to persuade him to go back to their table. Gail was trying not to intercede, but a laugh escaped her. She just couldn't help it. The look on Cas's face was just too funny. As the man's friends took him away from their booth, Cas started to tremble with barely-controlled anger.

"Cas, man, settle down," Dean said, highly amused. He looked at Gail. "You know who he looks like? He looks like Tom Hanks in that stupid women's baseball movie you made us watch. You know, when he was trying not to yell at that outfielder who messed up?"

She burst out laughing. That was exactly what Cas looked like right now. "You liked that movie," she said to Dean, nudging him. "Admit it."

He finished his beer. "Yeah, OK. I'll admit it. That was probably the best movie a woman has ever forced me to watch."

She shrugged. "Hey, you could have left the room at any time. I didn't exactly handcuff you to the chair, or anything."

Dean smirked. "Well, anyway, that's how Cas looks now. All twitchy. Maybe we'd better just leave, before he blows a gasket." He started to slide out of the booth, and Gail followed him.

The man was yelling at them from his table now, swearing at Cas, calling him a "chickenshit". Gail put a hand on her husband's arm. "Just out of curiosity, which one of the magic words did he call me?" she asked him with some amusement.

Cas's jaw clenched. "He called you - " He stopped. "No. I can't say that to you."

Dean grinned. "Wow. It must be one of the really good ones. Here. Tell me." He moved close to Cas, and after a moment's hesitation, Cas whispered it in Dean's ear.

Dean's eyes widened, and he let out a whistle. "Yahtzee," he breathed. "Oh, Cas, man, you've gotta clean that guy's clock. You can't let him get away with that."

Gail poked Dean. "Don't encourage him. You heard what he said. He's trying to watch his temper, and I'm proud of him. As his friend, you should be supporting him, not egging him on."

Dean's mouth twisted into a smirk. "Oh, yeah? How about if I tell you that that asswipe over there called you a - " He leaned down and said the word softly into her ear, as Cas pursed his lips in anger.

Gail's eyes grew as big as saucers. "He did not," she said, astonished.

"Oh, but he did," Dean said, almost cheerfully. "Why do you think your husband looks like he's gonna short out, any second?"

Gail looked up at Cas. She waited a beat, and then said, "Go get him, sweetie."

Before she'd even finished the sentence, Cas strode over to the man's table, hauled him to his feet, and punched him full in the face.

"Ohhh, that's gotta hurt," Dean said gleefully.

The man fell to the floor unconscious, and Cas looked at the drunk's companions. "Does anyone else at this table want to say anything about my beautiful wife?"

They all shook their heads, and Cas nodded slowly. "That's what I thought," he said calmly. Then he came back to join his wife and his best friend. "Please tell Riley that my blade remained in my pocket the whole time," Cas said to them. Dean and Gail were laughing as Cas smiled proudly. They exited the bar.

It was the day before the scheduled political debate, and Patricia was organizing her notes. She was extremely frustrated. All she had as far as ammunition went were the remarks she was going to make, most of which were already a part of the public record, hearsay, and innuendo. All of her careful planning had come to naught. Neither Pamela nor Scott had succeeded in their efforts to compromise Castiel or Gail, and the surveillance of the Angels' suite had been a big bust, as well. Patricia watched the monitor every day on her computer, hoping to see or hear anything from the couple that would help her cause by hurting theirs, but she'd seen very little. The Angels were rarely even there, and even when they were, it was only for a few moments. She had overheard a brief conversation between them when they had been bemoaning the fact that they were rarely ever intimate with each other these days, and she had passed that little tidbit on to Pamela and Scott. But tomorrow was the last day of October, already, and the election was due to take place on November the 11th. The days of restraint had long since passed. Castiel was leading in the polls, and both Gail's and Bobby's numbers were very similar to Patricia's own. If both of the two young Angels, or even one of them, had been able to seduce one of the married candidates, that could have turned the whole thing around. But even though Castiel and Gail had apparently been forced into abstinence for the time being, neither of them had even come close to succumbing to temptation.

Patricia had also overheard Castiel and Gail talking about popping down to Earth to visit Dean Winchester, but that was the first time in a long time they had been to Earth, so she didn't think anything could be made of that, either.

Where was her smoking gun? She hadn't seen Alan since his report on Egypt, and the couple of times she had called him on Angel Radio, he had told her that he was working on something, and to be patient.

But the debate was tomorrow, and they had run out of time. She placed one more call to Alan now, and he told her that he was on the verge of getting something big. Give him another hour or so, and then he would come to her office.

Patricia was fuming, but she had little choice but to wait. And as she sat there in her office, refining her notes, Alan looked up from the table in the bar as his new acquaintance approached.

"Sorry I'm late, mon ami," the man said. "Can I buy you a drink?"


	5. God Bless The Child

Chapter 5 - God Bless The Child

Rowena and Raguel were sitting in her hotel suite, having a drink. Like most Angels, Raguel didn't eat and he seldom drank. But he had discovered that Rowena liked to drink alcohol, and it was easier just to have her pour him one than to demur, and have her look at him strangely.

Raguel was still uncertain about his own intentions for Rowena, but he had to admit that she was an intriguing woman, and they had several enemies in common. At the moment, they were talking about her vendetta against the Winchester brothers and the Angels, and the fact that, like Patricia, Rowena had been spying on Castiel and Gail through the enchanted mirror in Matthew's suite. As long as the Angels remained in Heaven, Rowena couldn't touch them, but she'd been hoping to find out when and where their next trip to Earth would be, so that she could plan a nasty surprise for them. However, except for that party that they'd had a while back in the bunker, they had stayed in Heaven pretty much this whole time.

Raguel wasn't interested in Heaven's politics, but he was quite interested in the fact that Rowena could access that mirror any time she chose. All she needed was another reflective surface on her end. Then she would say a few funny-sounding words, wave her arms, and, voila. When he'd first found out about it, Raguel had questioned her very closely. But, luckily for her, she hadn't been accessing that particular mirror back when Matthew had occupied the suite. Otherwise, Raguel might have had to reach over and snap Rowena's pretty little neck.

"And those Winchesters have been all over the place," Rowena was saying angrily. "Then they go back to the bunker, and I canna' access the place." Her Scottish brogue always became more pronounced when she was angry, Raguel noted with amusement. "They have that infernal candlestick there, and my own son helped the Angels put the extra protections on the premises!"

Now Raguel was really intrigued. The fact that Crowley was Rowena's son was just one more thing about her that may be helpful to him in the future. Also, Raguel was generally a dour individual, but it amused him to think of the relationships between her, the King of Hell, and the Angels. Raguel and the rest of the Archangels had certainly had a dysfunctional relationship with their Father and with each other, but these particular individuals definitely gave them a run for their money, as far as dysfunction went.

Rowena was still ranting and raving. Her eyes were wide now, and her flaming red hair was practically standing on end. "They took my husband away from me! They need to pay for what they've done!"

Raguel was growing tired of her whining now, and he was also surprised that she hadn't thought of something which was readily apparent to him. The thoughts he'd been having about families led him to say impatiently, "If you cannot get to either the Angels or the Winchesters, then why would you not punish them by targeting their loved ones? Does the Angel Gail not have a brother, and are he and his wife not expecting a child?"

Rowena looked at him, startled. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? No, surely not. Rowena didn't think she'd sunk quite as low as cursing a tiny, innocent baby. Not yet, at any rate. But on the other hand, that didn't mean she couldn't curse Frank and his wife. Rowena and Frank had a history as well, didn't they, from way back when Frank had been a Knight of Hell. Frank had been a horrible, crude individual back then, and he and Rowena had hated each other. Now, Gail's brother went around acting like he was some kind of a Saint. Well, he wasn't, any more than any of them were. They all had their dark histories. Rowena would have absolutely no problem sending Frank back to Hell. None.

She got up from her chair and walked over to her satchel, smiling as she went.

A short while later, there was a knock at the front door of the house. "I'll get it," Frank said to Jody, who smiled. Damn right, he would. She was eight months pregnant by now, and as big as a house. By the time she even thought about rising from the couch, their visitor would have aged several years. The last time that Sam and Dean were here, helping Frank and Rob finish the extension to the house, it had taken all four of them to haul her to her feet to go look at it, and even then, it had been touch and go. She'd thought that it was going to take them a lot longer to build, but the male Angels had started to come down to help out, so they'd gotten it finished after all, with time to spare. They really did have some terrific friends.

Frank opened the front door. "Delivery from Toys, Incorporated," the man said. There was a big brown box sitting on the porch beside him, and he had a clipboard and pen in his hands which he thrust forward at Frank now for a signature.

Frank signed where the driver indicated, and then he leaned down to look at the label on the box. "Thanks - " he started to say to the delivery man, who was already walking down the porch steps. Oh, well. So much for polite conversation.

Frank smiled when he read the label. He grabbed the box with both hands and hefted it experimentally, but it was extremely light, so he tucked it under one arm and went back into the house.

He walked into the living room, grinning at his wife. "Now I've seen everything. Angels, sending packages by UPS."

"What?" Jody asked him, puzzled.

"Cas and Gail sent us this, from Toys, Incorporated," Frank told her. He put the box down on the floor and reached into his pants pocket for his key ring. He kept a small box cutter on it, which he used to open the box now.

It was a huge teddy bear. Frank lifted it out of the box, grinning. "Gail and her stuffed animals," he said to Jody. "The tradition continues, I guess. We'll have to think of a name for him."

Jody smiled, too. "That was good of her and Cas. He'll have to stay here, though, for the time being. I want to make sure the second coat of paint in the nursery is completely dry before we move the stuff in there."

"Fine, he can stay in here and watch TV with us, then," Frank said affably. He placed the plush toy on one end of the loveseat, and turned it towards the TV set.

"I guess we should call Cas and Gail, to thank them," Jody remarked.

"Yeah, but maybe we'd better not call them right now," Frank stated. "Last time I talked to Sam, he said their debate is tomorrow. I remember thinking it was funny, because tomorrow's Hallowe'en. Not that that means anything in Heaven, I guess. But Sam and Dean said Cas sounded really stressed, and if Patricia's as bad as they say, he and Gail had better be on their game."

Jody nodded. "Fair enough. Oh, and speaking of Hallowe'en, you're going to have to go to the store and get some more bags of candy."

Frank looked at her, open-mouthed. "But I just bought two jumbo bags, a couple of days ago."

Jody shrugged. "What can I say? Your daughter likes candy."

Frank grinned again. How could he possibly argue with that?

Rob came home about half an hour later. He had taken the bus to the library to do some research. After some negotiation with his parents, they had finally given in, allowing him to stay at home instead of going to school. He'd been out of formal academia for so many years that it now seemed like a moot point. Rob's voice was changing, and Frank was already teaching him how to fight. Their son had even found a few hairs on his chin the other day, and Frank had confided to Jody proudly, with a wide smile, that their son had a fair amount of hair in other places on his body, as well. Like it or not, Rob was a young man now, and there didn't seem to be much point in forcing him to go to a high school he really didn't want to go to, with a bunch of kids he would never really fit in with. But he was still a studious boy, and he had promised them that he would go to the library a couple of times a week to at least get out of the house, and to do some research for his self-schooling. History, geography, science. Rob still wrote his stories too, and unlike many teenagers, he enjoyed the feel and the smell of older books. So as long as he was willing to pursue some self-education, Jody supposed that was all they could ask from him at this point.

"Hey, Mom," Rob called from the front hallway.

"Hey, yourself," Jody called back. She could hear the thump of his backpack on the stairs. Then he entered the living room. "How now, brown cow?" Rob asked her. Frank had been teaching him some old-school expressions, and he enjoyed using them whenever possible.

But Jody raised an eyebrow. "Considering how big I am, do you really want to be saying that to my face right now?"

Rob's face fell. "Oh, man, I'm sorry, Mom. I was just - "

Jody was smiling now. "I was only kidding. I know you didn't mean anything by it. It's just that your Dad isn't here, and I need some entertainment. Sit down and tell me what you looked up in the library today."

Rob smiled back. "There are a lot of things I wanted to look up, but I kept thinking about you, having the baby," he told her.

"Relax, Max," Jody said. "I'm not due for a month, yet."

"'Relax, Max'," Rob repeated. "I like that one." He went to sit on the loveseat, and he stopped short, looking at the stuffed teddy bear. "Where did this come from?" he asked his mother.

"Aunt Gail and Uncle Cas," she responded.

Rob stared at the stuffed animal. He'd felt it right away, as soon as he'd looked at it, "Are you sure?" he asked her cautiously.

Jody's forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean? Of course I'm sure. When your Dad opened it, he said that was who it was from. There's a label on the box, there."

Rob looked down at the box. Sure enough, on the upper left corner of the flap, it said: "From Castiel and Gail." No return address, of course. Normally, Rob would have found that kind of funny, considering the source. But he was preoccupied now. That bear just felt wrong, somehow. CASTIEL and Gail? Shouldn't it have said "CAS and Gail"? Cas never used his formal name with his family and friends.

"There's something wrong with that bear," Rob said slowly.

Jody's blood ran cold. She and Frank had learned to trust Rob's intuitions and visions by now. "What do you mean?" she asked him.

"I don't know. All I know is, it shouldn't be here," Rob told her.

Jody's eyes narrowed. "Go to the kitchen table and get me my purse, please," she said. Rob left the room immediately. When he came back and handed it to her, Jody dug around for her cell phone.

She called Cas. The phone rang and rang, and she was about to give up when Cas answered. He sounded out of breath.

"Cas? Are you OK?" Jody asked her brother-in-law.

"Yes, Jody," he said. "Riley, can you toss me one of those towels, please?" A moment's silence, then: "I'm sorry, Jody, I've just been working out with a few of the cadets in the Academy. I'm supposed to be working on my speech for the debate tomorrow, but I couldn't concentrate."

"Well, I'm sorry to be bothering you on the eve of the big debate, but I need to ask you an important question," Jody said to him.

"Sure, Jody. What is it?" Cas asked.

Jody told him about the teddy bear, and the fact that Rob had a bad feeling about it. Cas frowned. "I have no knowledge of such a gift," he told her. "Let me check with Gail, and I'll call you back." He hung up.

"There's a situation on Earth which may need my attention," Cas told Riley. He put the towel he'd been using on the table in the training room.

"Cas, the debate is tomorrow," Riley said, panicked. "Can't it wait until after that?"

"Perhaps not," Cas said softly, thoughtful. He was troubled by what Jody had just told him. "I need to go."

Cas winked out of the gym and went to Gail's office immediately. She was sitting on one of the couches with her feet up on the coffee table, looking over her notes for the debate. She looked up, smiling. "Thank goodness. I need your opinion: should I open with this joke I have in mind, or not?"

He rushed over to her. "We may have a problem," Cas told his wife. She put her speech down on the coffee table as he filled her in.

"I didn't send them anything from us, Cas," Gail said to her husband. "Jody's not due for a month, yet. I was going to wait until after the election was over, so we could decide what to give them together." She started to feel concerned now. "Rob says he thinks there's something wrong with it? What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but we'd better get down there and find out," Cas said tensely. Gail rose immediately, taking his hand. "Have you got your blade?" he asked her. Gail nodded. "It was usually in her pants pocket these days, just as Cas always kept his in his jacket. Ever since the time of the death squads, Gail had gotten in the habit of always keeping it handy. Well, almost always.

The Angels winked out.

"What do you mean, there's something wrong with it? It's a stuffed animal," Frank protested to Rob. Then, it dawned on him. He'd read about this, in one of those parenting magazines that Jody kept in the bedroom. "Are you feeling insecure about the new baby, Rob? If so, you can talk to me or your Mom about the way you feel. It's completely normal, you know. It won't bother us. We promise."

"No, Dad!" Rob exclaimed. "It's not me, it's the bear! Cas and Gail didn't send it!"

"He's right; we didn't," Cas said. He and Gail had popped into the living room as the two of them had been talking, and Frank, Jody and Rob had been so distracted that their sudden appearance hadn't even startled them.

"Mom, you should leave the room, right now," Rob said nervously.

His panic was contagious. "Allow me," Cas said. He strode over to Jody and winked her outside the house, into the back yard. The yard had a high fence, and the neighbours worked during the day, so there was little chance of discovery. A moment later, Gail appeared, with Frank and Rob in tow.

"Where were you guys, when I was trying to get off the couch and climb the stairs earlier?" Jody quipped.

"Stay here, all of you," Cas instructed them all sternly.

He and Gail popped back into the living room. Cas took out his blade, and cut into the bear. Then he grabbed a few handfuls of stuffing, pulling them out. Then he stopped. "Look," he said to Gail, pointing to the hex bag with the tip of his blade.

Gail let out an angry breath. "Rowena," she hissed. She took her own blade out of her pocket. "Put it on the floor, Cas." He grabbed the bear and did as she requested. She pointed her blade at it and lit the bear on fire, using her golden ray. While she was doing that, Cas popped into the kitchen to get the fire extinguisher that Jody kept in the cabinet beneath the sink. He came back with it, and when they were sure that the hex bag had been completely destroyed, Cas used the fire extinguisher to put out the flames. Gail waved her arms and cleaned up the debris, and then the couple winked outside.

"Problem solved, at least for now," Gail told the family. "Although, you may want to spray some air freshener around."

"What the hell was all that about, anyway?" Frank said, agitated. The Angels told him what they'd found, and he was livid. "What the hell is her problem?!" he yelled. "Damn witch! I'm gonna go over there and kill her with my bare hands! Who the hell does she think she is? How dare she mess with my family like that?"

"Leave her to me, Frank," Cas said grimly. "I can't allow anything to happen to any of you. Gail and I will pay her a visit. If she is still staying at that hotel she was at before, we know exactly where she is. That was where Bobby was, when we went to get him."

"You mean, when we went to rescue him from her," Gail added angrily.

"Cas...?" Rob said haltingly.

"Yes, Rob?"

The boy looked at him for a moment, and then he rushed forward, hugging Cas impulsively. Cas was a little taken aback. He patted Rob lightly on the boy's back. Then Rob hugged Gail, and then, he looked at both of their faces.

"You know what? I've been a really rotten kid, in a lot of ways," Rob told them. "I know I've been a dick, especially to you, Uncle Cas. I blamed you for everything that went wrong in my life. But the bottom line is, you guys have always been there for us." His eyes were filling with tears now. "I don't know what that stupid thing would have done to us, and I don't even really care. The only thing I care about is that you guys came here as soon as we called. My Dad said you both have a big debate to prepare for tomorrow, but you dropped everything and came right away, to protect us."

"Of course we did," Cas said softly. "You're our family."

"And you have to take some credit here too, Rob," Gail told the boy. "If you hadn't had your feeling, we would never have known that anything was wrong. Who knows how long that thing might have sat there, infecting all of you?" She was thinking of Chuck now, and the hex bag that Rowena had put in that sculpture of the Eiffel Tower. Prolonged exposure to it had nearly driven Chuck insane.

"We were going to put that bear in the nursery," Jody remarked soberly. "Thanks, you guys."

Gail was still looking at Rob. "So you see, your gift isn't all bad," she said softly. He nodded, still dazed.

"Do all of you feel all right?" Cas asked Frank and his family.

"Yeah, Cas. We're fine. Just relieved, more than anything," Frank answered for all of them. It was indicative of the fright that he had experienced that he didn't even have one quip to make.

"Then, we will go," Cas said formally.

Gail moved to her brother and gave him a hug, and then she looked at Jody. "We'll talk soon," she said. Then she took Cas's hand, and the Angels winked themselves away.

But Rowena was no longer at that same hotel, of course. She had moved on to a different one, as soon as she'd had the delivery company take the package to Frank's house. She was no fool.

Two very angry Angels popped up to their suite in Heaven, and as soon as Rowena saw them through the mirror, she was angry, too.

"Something's got to be done about her, Cas," Gail said to her husband. "She can't just get away with something like that! What the hell is she trying to prove?!"

Cas's lips were tightly pursed. He was just as angry as she was, and he was just as frustrated, too. This was all they needed, especially right now. Where could the witch be, and why had she done what she had done? She had been angry with all of them at Bobby's wake, but they hadn't really concerned themselves too much about it at the time. But now, if she was going to start to target their friends and family, they were going to have to put a stop to it.

"Wait here, my love," Cas said. "I'll be right back." He popped out of the suite as Gail paced the floor, working off some nervous energy.

Rowena watched Gail. She was incredulous now. How had they been able to find out so quickly?

Cas came back, and he had Bobby with him. "Thanks a lot, you two. You saved my bacon," Bobby said. "Laurel's like a daughter to me, but if I had to sit there for one more minute and listen to her lecture me on what not to say during the debate, I think I'd have to commit hara-kari. How are you guys doing?"

They filled him in on what had happened, and Bobby frowned. "I'm awful sorry, Gail," he said. "Is everybody OK?"

"Yeah, they're fine, Bobby," she said.

"I just brought you here to let you know what happened, and also to find out if you know of any place we might be able to find her," Cas said to Bobby.

Bobby's frown deepened. "No, I don't," he replied. "Dammit, I wish I could go down there to Earth right now. I could have a talk with her."

"A talk?!" Cas said, raising his voice.

"Yeah, Cas. If she did that because she's got some kind of misguided idea that she and I are in a committed relationship, I should probably talk to her, and tell her it's never gonna happen," Bobby remarked. Then he sighed. "I can't wait until all this election b.s. is over. Then, maybe we can get back to normal."

Rowena was seething now. She waved her hand, shutting off the mirror.

"Maybe you should give up on the Angel," Raguel said to her. "He obviously does not feel the same way as you do."

"Oh, why don't you just shut up?" Rowena retorted. "What would you know about it?"

Suddenly, Raguel's arm shot out, and his hand was on her throat. "Watch yourself, my girl," Raguel snarled. "I am an Archangel, and you will speak to me with respect. If you ever utter anything like that to me again, you will not need to worry about getting your revenge. Do I make myself clear?"

Rowena nodded quickly. She was unable to speak, of course, because he was choking her. Raguel's grip tightened for a moment, and then he let go. Rowena began to cough, and her hand went to her neck, rubbing it. When she felt safe to speak, she said, "I'm sorry, my liege. It will not happen again."

"See that it does not," Raguel said imperiously. But then, he took pity on her. She was just sitting there, touching her throat, eyes cast down into her lap. "Do you see what happens when you make me lose my temper?" he admonished her in a gentle tone.

Rowena's fingers curled in her lap, until her long red fingernails were cutting into the palms of her hands. How dare he? Spoken like any typical man. Blaming her for his own short temper. Expecting him to defer to his massive ego. But, like it or not, he was more powerful than she, at least for the time being. She had better regroup, and come up with a new plan.

"Can I pour you a drink, my dear?" Raguel asked her, in his most civilized tone.

Bobby left the suite after a few more minutes' conversation, wishing them both good luck in the debate. But Gail was restless now.

"I'm not comfortable with this, Cas," she said, making a face. "We're stuck up here, and they're down there, unprotected. Even if we asked Sam and Dean to go over there, they're only humans, too. What if she tries something else?"

Cas's forehead wrinkled. He was worried about that, too.

But then, Gail's expression brightened. "I've got it!" she said, smiling. "I'll take our candlestick over there. We're not staying at our house on Earth, anyway. They can keep it at their place for now, and I'll tell Frank not to take any more deliveries. Then after the election's over, like Bobby said, we'll concentrate on what to do about that witch with a 'b'." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be back in a minute, sweetie."

His forehead creased with concern. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, Cas. I want you to stay here. Do some more preparation for the debate. Please. I'll be right back, I promise," she told him. Then she winked out.

Cas popped over to his office to get his notes, and then he returned to their suite immediately. He didn't want Gail to have to come looking for him. He studied his notes and visualized being at the podium, addressing the audience of Angels. Riley had already taken him to the venue so he would be prepared as to the appearance of the place, the positions that the candidates would be standing in relation to each other, and the locations of the closed-circuit cameras. There was only so much seating space to be had in the auditorium, so the tickets to the debate had been drawn by lottery, and the debate was going to be shown via monitors to the rest of Heaven.

This was going to be a very strange experience for Cas. Never would he ever have imagined that he would find himself on a stage in an auditorium in front of a host of Angels, debating with a friend of his, and a female Angel, and his own wife, to vie for the highest position in Heaven. Surreal didn't even begin to cover it.

A few minutes passed, then a few more, and Cas started to get worried. Even allowing for a short visit, shouldn't Gail be back by now? He knew she disliked it when he was too overprotective, but now, he was thinking of the time that she had popped over to their house alone, and Lucifer had taken her. They hadn't seen her again for several months after that, and he'd been extremely lucky to have gotten her back unscathed on that occasion.

He was debating with himself whether or not he should wink himself down to their house, or maybe to Frank's, when she called him on their private frequency, telling him that Jody had gone into labour.

Frank and Rob, Cas and Gail, and Sam and Dean were all sitting in the waiting room, waiting for someone to come out and tell them how things were going. Frank and Rob had been in the delivery room for a brief period of time until the nurses had kicked them out, telling them to go out and wait with the others. Jody had been in too much pain at that point to argue, and besides, both of her guys had looked like they had been on the verge of passing out. She had one job to do right now, and she couldn't do it properly if she was worried about those two, too.

Frank was scared green. Since he'd never had any first-hand experience with this sort of thing, the fact that Jody was giving birth a month early concerned him greatly.

"Is that a bad sign?" he asked his family and friends as he paced back and forth in the waiting room. He stopped in front of his sister, looking at her.

"I know you can't be looking at me for an answer to that question," she said dryly.

"You're a woman, aren't you?" Frank said, frustrated.

"OK, stop for a minute and think about what you're saying," she retorted. "To quote an old movie, 'I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies.'"

Frank looked at her, then at Cas, then at Sam and Dean and Rob. There was no help to be had here. Two single guys, two Angels, and a teenage boy. Lord help him. Maybe they should have stopped by a bookstore for a book on the facts of life on their way here.

After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor came out to the waiting room. He made a beeline for Frank; he knew a nervous father-to-be when he saw one.

"Congratulations," the doctor said. "You and your wife have a healthy baby girl. She and Jody are doing just fine."

Frank's face broke into a relieved grin, and Sam and Dean and Rob all high-fived each other. Cas took Gail's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He knew she'd been worried, too.

"Can our son and I go in and see them?" Frank asked the doctor, who nodded. "Sure," he replied. "Make it just for a minute, though. Your wife is pretty tired. Congratulations again."

Frank and Rob walked into Jody's room. She was propped up against the pillows, hair slicked with sweat, holding the tiniest human being they had ever seen.

"Oh my God," Frank said softly. He approached his wife's bedside, looking down at the baby. "Hi'ya, kiddo," he said, reaching out to touch the baby's cheek. Her skin was incredibly soft. She wriggled in Jody's arms, as if she recognized her father's voice.

"I know what her name should be," Jody told her husband. "She's Angela. Our little angel."

"Talk about appropriate," Frank said, smiling gently. "Hey, Rob. Come and meet your sister." He nudged his son forward. Rob approached cautiously. He reached out slowly to touch the baby with his index finger, and she opened her tiny hand, as if she was trying to close it around Rob's fingers.

"Just like Gail," Frank said, smiling. He leaned down and kissed Jody softly on the forehead. "Get some rest, and we'll see you later."

A nurse came into the room to take the baby to the nursery, and as soon as she took the infant from Jody's arms, Jody fell asleep. Frank looked down at his wife, shaking his head. How the hell did women do it? It was a good thing men didn't have to have babies, or the human race would have died out centuries ago. Weaker sex, his ass. He gave Jody one more gentle kiss, pulled the covers up to her neck, and then motioned to the door. He and Rob left the room quietly.

Once they got back to the waiting room, Frank reached into his pocket for the cigars he'd stashed there. When Gail had popped back over to the house with the candlestick, Jody had begun the process of labour. Maybe it had been due to the stress brought about by what had happened earlier with the hex bag, he didn't know. But Gail had taken charge, telling Frank to throw some things into a bag for Jody, while Rob was to call Jody's doctor. While the guys were doing that, Gail had popped Jody over to the hospital, and gotten her sister-in-law checked in. Then she had gone back to the house to get Frank and Rob. Frank had grabbed the cigars he'd bought, slipping them into his pocket. None of them actually smoked, of course, but he'd just always liked the notion. And then, once her family was ensconced in the hospital, Gail had called Sam's cell to tell him and Dean, and while the brothers were driving over there, Gail had called Cas on their frequency to tell him the news. Cas had popped over to tell Bobby, and then he had winked himself to the hospital to begin the vigil.

And now, the wait was over. Frank handed Sam and Dean a cigar each, and each of the brothers hugged him tightly, in turn. Then Frank went to hand a cigar to Cas, who held up his hand, as if to refuse. "It's tradition," Frank told his brother-in-law. He grabbed the lapel of Cas's jacket and tucked the cigar in his inside breast pocket.

"She looks like Gail," Frank said softly, looking into Cas's eyes. "We named her Angela. Our little Angel."

"That's wonderful, Frank," Cas said, around the lump in his throat. He pulled Gail's brother to him, and gave Frank a big hug. "All right, Cas. Okay," Frank said, smiling. He knew what was coming next. Sure enough, a sniffling sound came from his brother-in-law a moment later.

Frank gave Cas a squeeze, saying, "C'mere and get your husband, Gail. I think he's sprung a leak." But then, as soon as Gail came, Frank looked at her face, and the tears started to come to him, too.

"Now I've got another little girl to take care of. But I want you to know I'll always be your big brother, and I'll always be there for you, if you need me. Whenever you need me," Frank said to her. Then she started to cry, and so did Frank, and Cas was still crying, so the three of them moved together into a group hug, while Rob and the Winchesters watched, bemused.

"Are you crying, Dean?" Sam teased his brother.

"No, I'm not crying, I just got some dust in my eye," Dean said, wiping his face with his hand.

"Oh, right. 'Cause, statistically speaking, hospitals are some of the dustiest places in the world," Sam said sarcastically. But he was smiling.

Frank pulled out of the embrace. "Let's go to the nursery. You guys can take a look at her through the window."

"Hey, aren't you going to give me a cigar?" Gail asked her brother, poking him with one hand while wiping her eyes with the other.

"Why, do you WANT a cigar?" Frank asked her curiously.

"Yes, I do," she said, holding out her hand. "For Bobby."

Frank nodded in understanding. Right. Of course. He handed her one, and she opened Cas's jacket, stashing it in the same pocket as the other one.

"OK, let's go see my niece," Gail said cheerfully. "It's about time we got another girl around here. Jody and I will have to teach her nice and early not to put up with any crap from you guys."

"Aww, geez. Here we go," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "Kid's been here less than an hour and you're already planning on turning her against us."

"Hey, I just thought of something," Sam said. "It's after 2 a.m. now, so that makes Angela a Hallowe'en baby."

"I'm just glad everybody's OK," Frank remarked. "Jody wasn't due till near the end of November. That's why the baby's so small, I guess."

Cas smiled gently. "I've heard they come that way."

"It is pretty funny, a Hunter having a Hallowe'en baby," Dean chipped in. He elbowed Frank. "Maybe instead of a baby monitor, you should put an EMF detector in her crib."

"Put Holy water in her bottle," Sam added, grinning.

"When she starts teething, check her for fangs," Rob said suddenly, and the men stopped walking, staring at him. "Sorry," the youth said. "Was that over the line?"

"I don't think I've ever been prouder to call you my son," Frank said, smiling. Then he grabbed Rob in a headlock. "Stick with me, kid. With my expert tutelage, you'll be a master at joke-telling in another couple of years."

"Or, you could just ignore everything your dad tells you and date girls, instead," Dean said, nudging Rob.

"Hey, Winchester, whose baby are we going to see right now? Yours, or mine?" Frank retorted. "And, who's single? Oh, yeah. That would be you."

"He's got you there, Dean," Gail told their friend.

"I still can't believe our sensible Jody married this yahoo," Dean said, jerking a thumb at Frank.

Frank shrugged. "Just like every hot dog has its bun - "

" - There's someone out there for everyone," Gail finished. The brother and sister smiled warmly at each other. They'd made up that little saying for when one or the other of them had been feeling particularly blue, all of those nights on the run. When they had gotten older, they'd had discussions about whether or not it could be possible for either one, or both, of them to ever find true love. Maybe even get married some day. The circumstances they'd been forced into had seemed to preclude that from ever happening. But look at both of them now, ecstatically happy with the loves of their lives. Cas was holding Gail's hand as they entered the nursery viewing area, and she gave his hand a squeeze, smiling up at her husband.

"That's her, right there," Frank said proudly, pointing to the second row. "The cutest one."

"Oh, my God. Don't tell me you're going to be one of THOSE. Endless home movies, hundreds of pictures in your wallet?" Dean groaned good-naturedly.

"Then everywhere we go, he'll be hitting people in the face with his wallet, going, 'Look at my baby, look at my baby'," Sam added, smiling.

"I'm not gonna do that!" Frank said indignantly. Then he leaned down to Rob. "I'm totally gonna do that," he said into his son's ear, and Rob laughed, rolling his eyes. His Dad. What a dork.

"She's so tiny," Gail remarked softly. "I can't believe we all used to be that small, at one point. Even you, Sam."

"Not Cas," Sam retorted cheerfully. "Cas just walked up on the beach from the ocean one day and said, 'I think I'll give this evolution thing a try'."

They all laughed, and Cas smiled faintly. Sam was closer to the truth than he realized, but he was also far, far away. "Aren't babies wonderful?" Cas asked the group. "They're so innocent and pure." He gestured at the nursery room with a wave of his hand, and all of the babies that had been crying promptly stopped.

"Oh, wow," Rob breathed.

"I hope for your sake that was just a coincidence," Frank said with a slow smile. "Otherwise, you're gonna be spending a lot of time at our house."

"How much do you want to bet those were all girl babies?" Gail quipped. She poked Frank. "I hate to tell you this, but Cas is going to have a much higher calling soon than being your celestial babysitter. And speaking of which, we'd better get back. There are only a few more hours till the debate. I want to make sure Cas is as prepared as he can be. Word has it that Patricia's coming after him with both barrels."

"We're sorry, Frank. But soon, we will be able to spend much more time with all of you, one way or the other," Cas said. That was unless Patricia won, of course. But today was far too happy of an occasion to even contemplate such a thing, let alone say it out loud.

The Angels said their goodbyes, and they winked themselves back to Heaven.

Sam and Dean left shortly after, and Frank and Rob hitched a ride with them. It was late, so Rob was flagging now, but Frank was hyper. They decided they would all go back to the bunker, where Rob could bed down in his old room while the men had a couple of drinks to celebrate the new arrival.

Frank and the Winchesters downed a couple of shots, and then they switched to beer. "Boy, am I gonna be tired tomorrow," Frank said. "But, who cares? I have a new baby girl. Jody and I have a baby girl. I still can't get over it." Then he frowned. "How do you think that election thing's gonna go, you guys? Me and Gail still have to talk about all that stuff with Rob, and her father, and that Cathy woman. But I didn't want to bring it all up now, not so close to the big day. They've got a lot on their plates right now."

"That reminds me, I got a call from my FBI contact," Sam said. "He's got some more pages from that journal. I'll go pick them up, but I guess we're all thinking the same thing. We'd better not distract her and Cas right now. We need to make sure that one of them wins, or Bobby. Then we can sort everything else out, after that."

While his adoptive father and honourary uncles were having drinks, Rob was tossing and turning. He'd been really tired when he'd first laid down, but happy, too. Now he had a little sister, and just like his Dad and his Aunt Gail, Rob was going to do anything and everything he had to do to protect Angela. Now, he was even more determined to be trained as a Hunter.

Rob started to dream. He saw rows upon rows of cribs, with babies in them. Made sense, considering where he had just been. But as he looked closer, he could see that there were name tags on the cribs. One said Gail, and another said Rob. That also made sense to the boy. His visions had told him that he and Gail had the same biological father, and it was that scary guy. And, sure enough, here he came now, into Rob's dream. If that was what it was. Vincent was staring straight at Rob now, and he had that dark grin on his face. "These are all mine," he told Rob, "and I'll be making more, too. And then, once I have the Book of Death in my hands, all of my special children will be called upon to fulfill their roles. See you soon, Rob." Then the dark man waved his hand, just like Cas had, earlier. But instead of calming the babies, his gesture made them all weep and wail. Then, when Vincent started to laugh and the babies started to bleed, Rob woke up in a cold sweat.

He lay there for a moment, his heart beating double-time. But Rob didn't run out there to tell his Dad, because they'd talked about this before, a few times. Unless Rob could come up with something specific about the guy, Frank didn't want to open up that can of worms right now. Rob guessed he could understand that, but it was hard to have dreams like that and not be able to do anything about them.

He rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.

When Cas and Gail got back to Heaven, they winked themselves back to their suite. Cas's notes were still sitting on the coffee table. "If you want to study for a bit, I can just read quietly," Gail told him.

"What about your notes?" Cas asked his wife, and she shrugged. "I'm about as studied up as I'm going to get, Cas," Gail answered. "I think I would just end up getting more stressed out, at this point."

She selected a book while Cas sat down on the couch, looking at his notes. The two of them read quietly for a few minutes, and then, Cas tossed his notes onto the coffee table.

"I can't concentrate," he told his wife. "I'd much rather talk to you."

Gail smiled, putting down her book. "Same here, but I just wanted to make sure you're as prepared as you can be for tomorrow. Well, later today, actually."

"I'm as prepared as I'll ever be," Cas told her. He opened his arms. "Come here, please."

Gail snuggled into his embrace. They sat there contentedly for a moment, and then Cas said, "I have an apology to make to you."

She came out of the embrace and looked at him, puzzled. "Why?"

"Because we have missed so many things," he said soberly. "We did not do anything for your birthday, and what's worse, we did not even celebrate our wedding anniversary. Do you realize that we haven't had an anniversary celebration yet, and we've been married for over two years now?"

Gail looked at him, startled. She realized that he was right. Their first anniversary had taken place when they'd been apart, coping with Lucifer's death squads. And now, a couple of weeks ago, they'd been making speeches, working, and campaigning. All they had shared was a quick hug and a kiss in the hallway, before they had gone their separate ways again.

"Let me tell you something, sweetie," she said softly. "You have nothing to apologize for. Lately, time just hasn't been on our side. But it's less than two weeks now, Cas. And then, no matter what the outcome is, we'll definitely spend more time together." She smiled. "In fact, we may have to tell everybody there's a new Commandment: 'Though shalt not disturb God when he's celebrating his wedding anniversary. Of course, if Bobby gets elected, all we'll have to do is make out in front of him. He'll probably tell us to take a week off, just to get rid of us."

"Elephant," Cas said softly, and Gail sighed. "Well, you know what, Cas? If Patricia wins, I guess we'll have even more time to spend together," she said with a tremulous smile. He touched her face, the same way that she usually touched his. They had been working tirelessly, sacrificing the most precious thing they had, which was their time together, to make sure that didn't happen. But, as their campaign managers kept on reminding them, the poll numbers were too close to call. Anything could happen between now and Election Day. Anything.

"We won't stand for it," Cas told her. "If she thinks that she is going to tear our family apart, or restrict our affection for each other, she will discover that we cannot be intimidated."

"I love you, sweetie," Gail said warmly.

Cas smiled gently. "When I saw all of those babies tonight, all of those little infants with their whole lives ahead of them, I really wanted to be God for them. To make sure that they could live peacefully while they are on Earth. And then, those that are not marked by Sin can come here, and know that they will not be judged, and that they will be allowed the freedom to be themselves. Does that sound like Pride?"

"No, not at all," Gail said, touched by his simple eloquence. "In fact, I think you should say some stuff like that in your speech at the debate. I'm sure Riley has written some very glib, very political things for you to say, but I think people need to head from your heart, as well as your mouth and your brain. She touched his chest. "That's just one of so many reasons that you'll be a good God."

But Cas was frowning now. "I'm still battling my temper, though. The other thing I thought about when I looked at Angela tonight was you, when you were her age. Being sired by that horrible individual, no mother, passed around like a football...I would love to just take my blade to that man, and - " He took a deep breath. "Riley advises me I'm not supposed to say things like that, but it's how I feel."

Gail looked at her husband warmly. She said nothing, because technically, Riley was right. Cas shouldn't be talking like that, especially not right now. But there was nobody else here, just the two of them, and she knew that his anger was coming from a place of love.

"If things had worked out differently for us, would you have wanted to have a baby?" Cas asked her, after a moment's silence.

Gail thought about that. Then she said, "You know what? It's kind of strange that we never did have any, in any of our past existences. But I'm happy just being an Aunt, Cas. I never really wanted to be responsible for someone's life, not to that extent, anyway. I like our relationship the way it is now. We can come and go as we please, and we don't need to worry about a helpless little baby." Then she grinned for comic relief. "Well, not unless you count Dean, that is." Then she took his hands in hers. "How about you, sweetie? Are you disappointed that you never became a father?"

"No, I'm really not," Cas told her, "because I have you. I love you too much to be able to share you with anyone." Then he smiled. "Besides, you and I are responsible for many lives, in a way. And you know that if I achieve the High Office, I will want you right there by my side, helping me make the correct decisions."

Gail's lips twitched. "Definitely don't say THAT tomorrow, though. All the male chauvinist Angels will think you're whipped."

"Well, they would be incorrect," Cas said firmly.

She was surprised. "You know what that means?"

"Yes, of course I do," Cas said calmly. "Dean calls me that, all the time."

"Oh, he does, does he?" Gail said, raising her eyebrows. "OK, that's it; he's going on the Smite List."

They laughed together, and then Cas drew her to him. "No matter what happens, please know that I have always loved you, and I always will." Then he kissed her, and she was so caught up in the moment that it didn't occur to her until later that that had been a bit of an odd thing to say, under the circumstances.

Josiah was new to the second grade, and all of the children were much bigger than he was. He had been such a bright and precocious student that his teacher had suggested to his mother that he should be accelerated from the first grade right to the second. Joe was already reading at a third-grade level. Both Joe's teacher and the principal told Rosalie that it was highly unusual for a child to progress so quickly, especially a boy who was as introverted as Joe was.

Joe liked other people; he just didn't really understand them. He'd always felt separate from the other kids. Different, somehow, like he didn't really belong. Maybe it was because he had come very close to not being born at all. When his mom had been pregnant with him, Rosalie's abusive ex-boyfriend had held her at gunpoint, saying she had better go back to him, or he would kill her, and then kill himself. Then the cops had arrived, and the younger cop had rushed forward with his gun drawn. The "perp" had shot him, but while Ethan was distracting the gunman, his older, more experienced partner had blindsided the gunman, taking him down. Therefore, Rosalie's life had been saved, and so had her unborn son's.

So Ethan had died, and his family had mourned him. But unbeknownst to Ethan, his rash action had ultimately helped to save mankind. Rosalie had given birth to a healthy baby boy, who she had named Josiah. She'd wanted a strong, Biblical-sounding name. A couple of years later, when her son had started showing signs of his burgeoning intelligence, Rosalie had looked up the name "Josiah", and she had been intrigued to see that it meant "the fire of the Lord".

But for now, Josiah was still growing up, and he was shy and introverted. So his mother had approved the promotion to second grade, but she had advised her son that he should go by "Joe", and to try not to get too far ahead of the other kids in class. She was very proud of him for his intelligence and hunger to learn, but he had to be able to get along with his peers, too.

Josiah didn't really have any peers, of course, at least not on Earth. He was to be one of the Chosen Ones, the select few who came along only every few centuries to fulfill a very specific role. Joe's job would be to deal with the anti-Christ, and the child would need all of the Lord's fire that he could get.


	6. Never Talk To Angels

Chapter 6 - Never Talk To Angels

Bobby put on the suit he'd worn to Cas and Gail's wedding on the morning of the debate. Fortunately, it still fit. He combed his hair and his beard, and slipped his dress shoes on. That was one advantage to being an Angel; the area where his little toe used to be didn't throb any more.

All in all, he was pretty satisfied with the way things were now, although sometimes he missed his human friends so badly that his chest ached. He missed the boys, of course, and when Cas and Gail had shown up at his cabin earlier this morning with the news and the cigars that Frank had given them at the hospital, the lump that had formed in Bobby's throat had been big enough to choke a horse.

He came out into the living room, where Cas and Gail were standing, waiting for him. The three of them had talked it over and decided that they were going to walk over to the auditorium together, in a show of fellowship and solidarity. It had originally been Gail's idea to do that, and Bobby had to admit that, as a tactical move, it was brilliant. Both Cas's and Gail's camps had tried to keep them insulated from the majority of the vitriol coming from Patricia's, but Bobby's spy had been keeping him informed. Yeah, Bobby had placed a mole in Patricia's campaign office, and he made no apologies about it. He knew that Patricia had done the same. But Bobby hadn't been looking for dirt; he'd simply wanted an ear to the ground, to find out which way the wind was blowing over there. Frank and Gail's favourite singer to mock had once written that you didn't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. And while that was certainly true, it didn't hurt to have a little intel every now and then, either.

So when Gail had suggested that the three of them walk down the hall past their Angel audience hand in hand and all smiles, Bobby'd thought it was a stroke of brilliance. Their respective campaign teams had been isolating them, keeping them apart from each other the past few months, but Gail's proposal was intended instead to isolate Patricia. She had quipped that they should sing "one of these things is not like the other" while they were doing it. Gail had been using nervous humour to illustrate her point, but it had nonetheless been an incisive one, in Bobby's opinion.

Cas and Gail were standing hand in hand, as usual, when Bobby'd come out. He looked at them warmly. Cas and Gail, Gail and Cas. No matter which direction the wind blew in, it was always the two of them together, holding hands. They had weathered every storm that had been thrown at them, both literally and figuratively.

"You look nice, Bobby," Gail said. She moved forward, inspecting Bobby's suit. Then she brushed a few pieces of lint from his jacket lapel, smiling up at him.

"Thanks, dear," Bobby responded. "You look very nice, too. Is that a new dress?"

Her smile grew wider. "Yes, it is. I got it when we were in Las Vegas, before we went to the movie premiere."

Bobby's forehead wrinkled. "Well, I like it, but I don't know if you wanna be saying that to a lot of people right now."

Gail let out a frustrated breath. "I know. Riley told Cas the same thing. I don't know what the big deal is. It's not like our trips to Earth have exactly been a big secret."

"But Patricia says that we are abandoning Heaven by going to Earth, and the more that we remind the Angels that we enjoy going to Earth, the truer all of her statements will seem," Cas piped up. "Perception is key."

"If I hear one more time from Riley about perception being the key, I'm going to take that key, and shove it right up his - " Gail started to say, but Bobby interrupted her quickly, his beard twitching furiously. "Maybe we'd better just get going," he said, and Gail closed her mouth with a snap. She'd better control her mouth right now. She would sooner die than to admit so out loud, but she knew that Riley was right. Perception WAS the key, and this was the most important public appearance they would ever make in Heaven. She took Cas's hand in one of hers and one of Bobby's hands in the other, and they winked over to the wing that housed the auditorium.

Patricia was taken aback when she saw the three of them walking down the corridor like that. The strategy had worked, if only for a moment or two. She had been coming down the corridor, shaking hands with the Angels who were waiting in line to be seated, and exchanging a few pleasantries. Then came the excited murmurs from the crowd. She'd turned around to see her opponents in the upcoming debate walking down the hallway, linked together in solidarity, and Patricia had faltered. Castiel looked noble and formidable. Bobby looked strong and determined. And Gail stood, smiling, in-between them, like the glue that held everything together. She was even dressed appropriately for a change, and she had a light in her eyes that Patricia hadn't seen in her own eyes for years. Was Patricia really going to be able to stand against these three? Should she?

But then, she shook off the feeling. Castiel may look noble now, but as soon as Patricia was done with him, all of the Angels would know what a vile and disgusting beast he really was. Bobby may look strong now, but Patricia would show that he was actually very weak. And Gail was a little tramp, a Janie-come-lately who thought that she was entitled to access the High Office just because she had turned Castiel's head with her sexuality. And the reason Patricia didn't have any light in her eyes any more was because Lucifer had stolen it from her, and it was those three who were responsible for that. So, they wanted to play games, did they? Well then, let the games begin.

"I'm glad to see the three of you here," Patricia greeted them in a loud voice. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. The venue for the debate has had to be changed. Sadly, a pipe burst in the auditorium a short while ago, and the room has to be cleaned and dried out. Therefore, we have to go elsewhere."

As the crowd started to murmur again, Cas said, "And where would that be?"

Patricia started to smile. "A place you're extremely familiar with, I believe, Castiel. The tribunal room."

Gail pursed her lips angrily. Ohhh, Patricia was good, all right. A burst pipe, huh? Yeah, right. Which of Patricia's minions had been in the auditorium, wielding the wrench?

Bobby knew what their rival was doing, too, and he figured he'd better be the one to speak up. "The tribunal room is too small," he protested, trying to be logical about it. "And it's not configured right."

Patricia's smile held. "Normally, you would be correct, Bobby. But isn't it fortunate that you yourself signed an order, when the revised set of laws was being drafted, allowing for a retooling of the tribunal room? Construction started a while back, and while the place retains most of the charming qualities you'll all be familiar with from your time on the witness stand, there is now more than enough room for temporary seating. We took the adjudicating bench out, and God's special witness chair, and put them in storage. Then we removed the defendant's - oops, I mean, your - table, Castiel and Gail. But don't you worry, if you're feeling nostalgic. All of those things could just as easily go back in, if and when they're needed in the future."

Cas was pale now. Just what was that last part supposed to mean? But, none of what Patricia had said was lost on him. He had known, even without all of Riley's dire warnings, that Patricia was going to come after him. Why would she not? And she had a rich history to mine, didn't she? But the tribunal in particular was a sore spot for him, and for Gail and Bobby as well, of course. It was in the past, though, and the tribunal room was just a room. He would have to calm down.

But Gail's blood was boiling as she glared at Patricia. "You said that none of the things Bobby put his seal on would be valid while the election was still pending!" she shouted at Patricia.

The other woman shrugged. "Did I? Well, if I did, that would have been merely my own opinion. I have no authority at the present time. But I don't own a toolbox, dear." She looked at the Angels who had been waiting patiently in line. "Those of you who know where the tribunal room is may head over there now. For those of you who aren't familiar with that location, we have ushers here who will escort you." Angels started popping out on their own, and then the ushers she had indicated began winking people out, two by two.

Gail turned to Cas. "It's just a room, sweetie. We don't care. Right?"

"Right," he said, somewhat unconvincingly.

"Well, I'll see you over there, then," Patricia said cheerfully. "I know you know where it is." Then she popped out.

"You know what she's up to, Cas," Bobby said, his jaw clenched. "Don't take the bait. Don't give her the satisfaction." Then he looked at Gail. "You, too. You know what she's trying to do. You're smarter than that, Gail."

For an instant, she felt a wave of resentment towards Bobby. That was easy for him to say, wasn't it? He'd only made a brief appearance in that room, just long enough to sell Cas out, and then he had left, like a coward. But at the same time, she was thinking that, she knew that it wasn't fair. Bobby had been crazy at the time, driven mad by Lucifer. And besides, God the Father had told him to do it. Still, the memories associated with that room were horribly bad for both her and Cas, and it was all very well and good for Bobby to lecture them about it.

But then, she took a deep breath. They'd presented a unified front by their appearance here together today, and she wasn't going to allow Patricia to undermine that. "OK. OK, Bobby, you're right," Gail sighed. "Let's go." She took their hands again and popped them over to the tribunal room.

They were taken into the back room first, the place that had served as the chambers room during the tribunal. Incredibly, it was set up like a dressing room now. There were four chairs, big mirrors, and stylists waiting for them.

Robert laughed at the expressions on their faces. "Hi," he said to the candidates. "I'm Robert, the director of today's debate. I used to direct reality TV shows on Earth. And let's face it, this is going to be the most compelling TV there is. But because you'll be on camera, you'll all need to be made up. So sit down, and get comfortable. The debate will be done in three segments. First, we'll air your speeches. We'll draw names to see in which order you'll speak. Then, you'll each be given twenty minutes to rebut statements made by the other candidates. Then after that, we'll have half an hour set aside for questions from the audience, and then that'll be it. Simple enough, right? I'll leave you to your stylists now."

As the makeup people sat all four of them down and tied bibs around their necks, their campaign managers started popping in. Patricia was serene as she sat there, receiving her makeup. She'd already scored her first victory, based on the looks on their faces back there. A couple of her team members stood by, but she was on top of her game now. She had her notes in one suit pocket, and two bombshells in the other.

Bobby was looking at Patricia suspiciously. He didn't like the move she had pulled by changing venues, and he also didn't like that little smile on her face now. What did she have up her sleeve? The stylist approached him with a big makeup brush to dust the shine from his face, and Bobby waved at the brush as if it were a pesky housefly, scowling.

Cas's lips twitched furiously when he saw that. Cas himself was familiar with this process, of course, from working on the Supernatural TV show and the movie, so he'd sat down calmly, allowing the stylist to work on him. Now, Laurel was trying to convince Bobby to submit to the process, quoting an Internet study she had read about the fates of sweaty-looking presidential candidates in televised debates. Laurel's argument was having negligible results, but at least Bobby had stopped waving his arms for the moment.

Now Riley was talking, but quite frankly, he was always talking lately, Cas thought to himself. The little scene with Bobby had relaxed Cas momentarily, but now, Riley was getting him all wound up again. Telling him to hold his head up, stay calm, remember to breathe, and above all, to smile. "All right, Riley," Cas said, holding up his hand. "Please, calm down. You're making me nervous."

"I'm sorry, Cas," Riley said, "it's just that this is really, really important. All the Angels will be watching."

"But no pressure, or anything," Gail said dryly. She was trying to be patient with her stylist, but the woman was coming at her with an eyeliner pencil now, and it was kind of freaking her out. Where was Liz? Liz was supposed to be bringing Gail her notes. She'd left them in her office last night, and in all the excitement, she'd forgotten them there.

"If you're looking for Liz, she'll be a minute," Scott said from behind her. "We just found out about the change in venue." He glared down at Patricia, but it was just an act, of course. She'd told him what she had planned a while back; he just hadn't shared that information with Liz.

He moved around Gail's chair, leaning up against the makeup counter and looking down at her. "Are you OK, Gail?" Scott said in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm OK, but Liz is supposed to be bringing me my notes," she told him.

"Got you covered," Scott said, smiling. He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out her notes, placing them on her lap.

Her face lit up. "Thanks, Scott! You're a lifesaver!"

"Hey, I live to serve," he said, shrugging. Suddenly, he reached down and took her hand, holding it in both of his. "You look fantastic, Gail. You're gonna knock 'em dead, Boss Lady."

Cas's head jerked to the side, and the woman who was doing his makeup made a "tsk" sound. She knew that most men didn't like having makeup applied to their faces, but up until this point, Castiel had been quite docile. As soon as he'd seen Scott take Gail's hand, though, Cas's blood began to boil. After that one discussion that he and Scott had had about Scott's behaviour, by all accounts, the young Angel had comported himself properly around Gail. Cas hadn't been overt about it, but he had been paying attention. And he didn't like the fact that Scott had just swept in here, grabbing Gail's hand like that.

Gail saw Cas glaring at Scott, and she couldn't help but feel faintly amused by her husband's reaction. She had no knowledge of the altercation between Cas and Scott a while back, nor of the reason for it. So, she just thought it was cute that Cas was reacting that way. Still, Scott holding her hand felt wrong somehow, so she gently extricated her hand from his, putting it in her lap where her notes were. And he'd better not try to go for it there, or Cas would take his blade out, and she'd be looking to hire a new assistant. Gail smiled to herself. Her nerves were on edge, but she'd better not start laughing now, or she might not be able to stop.

Once the candidates were made up, they were ushered into the tribunal room. Cas looked around. The place looked different, yet somehow the same. Gail slipped her hand in his, and he looked down at her gratefully.

There was a great deal more floor seating, and the gallery which had been there before was still there, but it was now about three times the size it had been before. Because the seats had been drawn by lottery, Cas didn't see any of their friends in the seats. That was unfortunate. Even during the dark days of the tribunal, they'd had some friendly faces in the front row of the gallery. Cas frowned, glancing at Patricia. Back in those days, she had been one of them. He still wondered exactly what had happened to Patricia, and why she had such animosity towards them now. But he'd better gather his thoughts. Soon he would be speaking to all of Heaven, and Riley was right: it was the most important speech he would ever make.

They'd drawn names, and Bobby would speak first. He stood at the podium looking out at the spectators. Then he looked at the cameras. This was unbelievable. He'd watched a few Presidential debates on TV during his years on Earth, and this was pretty much what they had looked like. The obvious exception being that there were two women here. That had never happened in the history of the United States, and Bobby didn't know if it ever would.

"This is sort of uncharted territory for me," Bobby began nervously. "I ain't too great at public speaking. Oops. I mean, I'm NOT too great at it. My campaign manager Laurel told me not to say 'ain't'. Sorry, dear." He smiled, and a ripple of laughter went through the audience. That had been by design. Bobby may not have given a lot of big speeches in his time, but he'd had a lot of real-life experiences with a lot of different types of people under his belt, and he knew that a little gentle humour usually helped to disarm just about anyone.

"Many of you will no doubt remember me from when I was here before, although you new arrivals won't," Bobby continued. "So, let me fill you in on what I'm all about. I believe in honesty and straight talk. If you elect me, that's what you're gonna get. So, in keeping with that, before anyone else does, I'll be the one to tell you that I had the High Office a few years ago, but I resigned from it. My reasons for doing so are my own, but I wanted to be up-front about it. But quitting the Office was an error in judgement, and I regret it now. If you give me another opportunity to lead, my door will always be open for anyone who's got ideas on how to improve things around here." He smiled. "Some of the young Angels think I'm an old fogey, but I'm the one who brought in the computers all of you use now, and I'm open to any other innovations that might be beneficial to the way things are being run here. But if you prefer your quill pen and ink, that's fine, too. I myself am kinda partial to both."

He paused for a moment, and then his expression grew serious. "There's been a lot of talk in certain circles about our role as Angels. Should we just stay here in Heaven and do our thing? Should we be down on Earth, helping humans? Should we be fighting evil? Well, the short answer is: yes. Yes, to all of it. There are some folks here who seem to think there's something wrong with us spending time with humans. That we're somehow better than they are. But in this case, I think some of us old coots could learn from some of the younger generation. The young Angels I've talked to were humans themselves recently, and they haven't forgotten what it was like. All of us here were humans at some point in our lives. Are they perfect? No, far from it. But, neither are we. A lot of people have asked me what my platform is, or what my so-called mission statement is. I don't put much stock in any of that kind of stuff. I'll leave that to the paper-pushers and the corporate types. Instead, let me just tell you what I believe in: honesty, equality, and ethics. And one thing I definitely don't believe in is long-winded, boring speeches. So, I'm done talking."

Bobby backed away from a podium a step or two, looking at Cas. The audience applauded, and Cas stepped forward, nodding to Bobby in acknowledgement.

Cas waited a moment for the applause to die down, and then he said, "I hope my friend Bobby isn't hinting that my speech will be boring, or long-winded. We've been running a friendly campaign up until now."

Bobby grinned, and the audience laughed. There was even a smattering of applause. Cas looked taken aback by the reaction, and that prompted another wave of laughter.

Gail smiled warmly at her husband. Now, THAT was the charm she'd been talking about. If he kept it up, he'd have them all eating out of his hand.

"I'm Castiel, and I'm pretty sure that even the new arrivals will have heard about me," Cas continued with a smile. "Bobby joked about being an old fogey, but I'm probably the oldest fogey you will ever see here in Heaven. In fact, I go back to the very Beginning. For those of you who such things matter to, I'm currently the highest-ranking and the longest-serving Angel in Heaven. And, MY campaign manager has asked me to mention that when God the Father retired, I'm the one He offered the job to in the first place. I turned it down at the time, but now that the opportunity has come up again, I am humbly asking all of you to give me another chance. I do not believe that you would regret it."

Cas paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "I want to take a leaf out of Bobby's book now, and talk plain. I am aware that many of you have been told that I am a violent individual. In fact, I believe that the sudden change in venue we had this morning, to this particular room, was specifically designed to remind you that I once was subject to a tribunal hearing in this very same room. The transcript is a matter of public record, so it's not as if I have anything to hide."

Gail's heart sank to her stomach. This was a risky move on Cas's part. Poor Riley must be having a cow right now. But she could see the value of what Cas was doing. By bringing it up first, he was taking some of the sting out of it. If Patricia brought it up in her speech now, which she certainly would, it would already be out there. Cas was taking that particular elephant out of its cage and putting it on display, and she was proud of him for it.

"And while I'm not going to dwell on the tribunal, there are a couple of points I wanted to make," Cas went on. "As I was never allowed to utter a word in my own defense at that proceeding, I want to tell all of you now that that was no tribunal. It was a trial, pure and simple. Xavier put me and my entire existence on trial here in this room, because he wanted to get rid of me so that he himself could assume the High Office. And what is worse, he put my darling wife on trial with me, when her only offense was having the questionable judgement of loving me."

Cas looked warmly at Gail, and she felt tears prickle at her eyes. "I don't know if I ever thanked you properly for standing by me that whole time, and for remaining loyal to me even when I tried to force you into saving yourself," Cas said to her. "So I want to do so now, for all of Heaven to hear. I thank you, and I love you."

Some of the female Angels in the room sighed, just as they had when Cas had demonstrated chivalry to Gail during the tribunal proceedings. She put two fingers to her lips and then patted her heart, smiling at her husband.

Cas turned back to the audience. "Anyway, if you care to delve into the subject, you will find that I have made many mistakes in the past. But I feel like I have learned from each and every one of them. And that's all we can ask, isn't it? As I believe the expression goes, 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone'. The bottom line, as my good friend Dean Winchester would say, is that I am not perfect, and I never will be. But I am not inherently violent, and I do not intend to start a Holy War, contrary to what my opponent Patricia would have you believe. Having said that, make no mistake: if there is a threat to Heaven, as Lucifer once was, I will act swiftly and decisively to end that threat."

SNAP! The room was quiet, as everyone was listening intently to what Cas was saying. The noise was sudden, and it was incongruous. Everybody looked around, puzzled, but the sound wasn't repeated.

Patricia had been holding onto a pencil as Cas was speaking in order to have something to do with her hands, but as soon as he had mentioned Lucifer, she'd snapped the pencil in two. Now, she slipped the broken pencil discreetly in her pocket. No. He was not going to make her harm herself now. She had to maintain her professionalism. All of Heaven was watching. She stared straight ahead stoically.

"The last subject I will address is the regard that I have for humans," Cas continued calmly. "I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague Bobby on that score. Our opponent Patricia has been going around saying that humans wish to kill us."

"Are you making my speech for me now too, Castiel?" Patricia said testily.

"Did you or did you not tell the Junior Seraphs that very thing?" he shot back.

The moderator rapped his gavel, startling everyone. "This is the speech portion of the debate," Ogden said sternly. "Please restrict any extraneous comments to your rebuttal, Castiel."

Gail's mouth fell open. Everything had been going so smoothly that she hadn't even noticed the moderator, even though Robert had advised that there was going to be one. She looked down at the table where he was sitting, squinting her eyes against the bright lights. Ogden the Old-Timer, Patricia's biggest fan, was the "impartial" moderator? Great. Just great.

"Why are you admonishing Castiel?" Gail said sharply. "It was PATRICIA who interrupted HIM!"

Ogden rapped his gavel again. "You'll get your chance to speak, Gail. We must follow the rules of decorum, here."

She pursed her lips tightly together, willing herself to keep her mouth shut. Now she'd been chastised, and so had Cas, when it was Patricia who'd interrupted Cas's speech in the first place! Patricia had a smug smile on her face now.

"If we are done with the outbursts, I would ask you to continue, Castiel," Ogden said in a formal tone.

Cas sighed. Well, this wasn't the first time that he and Gail had been treated unfairly in this room, he thought to himself. But, looking on the bright side, at least this time, he was not going to be put to death once he left here today. And, as weak as it was, that little witticism served to cheer him enough to enable him to move on.

"As I was saying," Cas continued, "it's also no secret that Gail and I make regular forays to Earth, where we have been doing God's work. And I don't use that term lightly. We have worked side by side with humans to help other humans. We have put our lives on the line many times, to defend both humans and Angels against various forms of Evil. Our human friends and family are fine, fine people, and if you got to make their acquaintance, you would say the same. I will not apologize for my time spent on Earth, and I refuse to feel shame for my love for our human friends. Patricia can say anything she wants to about me, but she should know that I will defend them vociferously. They were with us every step of the way when we went on our missions to obtain the Tablets that eventually spelled Lucifer's undoing. I trust them with my life, and more importantly, I trust them with my wife's life." He smiled. "And those of you who know me, know what a high level of trust that truly is. Also, my brother-in-law and his wife are humans, and they just had a baby, making me a true Uncle for the first time in my long, long existence. So, humans are literally my family, as well as my friends. Yes, I have made many mistakes in my life, but choosing to love humans is not one of them."

Cas paused. He'd taken Gail's advice and spoken from the heart, and he'd said pretty much all he'd felt like he needed to say. "And now, I will cede the floor to my lovely wife Gail, who is a formidable candidate in her own right. And, if I may be allowed to show my extreme bias, she is the brightest light in this or any other universe."

Gail rose, smiling at her husband as the applause started. It went on for quite a while. She was glad to see that. Cas's speech had hit all the right notes, in her opinion.

When the clapping had subsided, Gail said, "Wow. What an introduction. My husband is definitely biased, but I'll take it. For the record, though, I only shine brightly because Cas has never sought to dim my light. When I first became aware that Heaven's laws were archaic, and detrimental to women, both Castiel and Bobby encouraged me in my attempts to fix that. And even though it's not perfect, I think we've come a long way, in a short period of time. When I originally ascended, the board was an elitist clique known as the Upper Echelon, consisting solely of older, white males. With abject apologies to my husband, who was one of them." She smiled at Cas, who dipped his head in acknowledgement. Then she continued, "But now, there are women on the board, and one young Asian Angel, and I hope that we can grow in diversity as time goes on. Look at our stage here, as a prime example. Two women, running for the Highest Office in Heaven. You should all be proud of yourselves for supporting such a culture of inclusion. I can't tell you how proud I am to be standing here today."

Then Gail frowned. "But let's not get too excited just yet. As I say these things, I realize that we could just as easily take a giant leap back from all this progress. It mystifies me, I admit, but it's a fact that our other female candidate seems to be a proponent of the old ways, when a woman was just supposed to sit down, shut up, and know her place. And no, I'm not making your speech for you, Patricia," she continued, trying to keep the tartness out of her voice. "I'm merely saying that as a woman, I do not want to be told my place, and I will not defer to any man just because he's a man. Just ask Castiel; he'll be the first one to tell you that's true." She smiled. "Look, I don't want to sound like a FemiNazi, as my friend and campaign manager Liz would say. All I'm saying is that I'm running on a platform of equality and inclusion, and I don't see what could possibly be considered wrong with that."

She paused. "I imagine that some of you, maybe all of you, are probably thinking: Who does this woman think she is? How many years has she been in Heaven, to be standing there, asking for our vote for the highest office there is? To tell you the truth, I've often wondered that myself. I know that the vast majority of you think of me first and foremost as Castiel's wife. Strangely enough, even though I identify myself as a modern, progressive woman, I'm OK with that. I'm proud to be his wife. But I'm also more than that, and so are all of you. You're Angels, as we all are, but you're people, too. That means that you're all capable of emotion, and independent thought. So please don't let anyone scare or intimidate you into thinking that you don't have a say in your own future. I'm living proof of that. Well, so to speak." She smiled again. "I've always spoken up for what I felt was right, and I'll continue to do that, no matter what happens in this election. If I don't win, I'll continue to lead the board, and we'll implement the laws that make sense. We'll also update those that don't. I've always half-joked that Heaven should live up to its name, and I believe it can, if we continue to move forward instead of backwards. Thank you for your time."

Gail stepped back from the podium to polite applause. The reception to her speech had been about the same as for Bobby's, but not nearly as enthusiastic as the one that Cas had gotten. But she was just fine with that. In fact, the more enthusiasm for Cas, the better.

But now it was Patricia's turn, and as she stepped up to the podium, the three other candidates glanced nervously at her, and at each other. What was she going to say?

Patricia cleared her throat, organizing her thoughts. Her opponents' speeches had been fairly predictable. It was too bad that Castiel had not risen to the bait and lost his temper when she had interrupted him, but there was still plenty of time for that. The key was for Patricia to appear to be the only sane, logical choice. It was a fine line she was looking to walk now. She had to warn the Angels of the dangers they might face if any of her opponents were elected, but she couldn't go on a rant about it, either. She had to stay professional, or she would look like the crazy one. But, these people had no idea. Heaven would descend into anarchy and Sin if her opponents had their way. Should she pull out the big guns right away? No, it was probably better to build up to the revelations slowly, so that the shock would be greater when the Angels found out just how terrible Bobby, Castiel and Gail truly were.

"I have enjoyed all of the speeches you've heard here today, coming from my esteemed opponents," Patricia began. "And, make no mistake, I do respect them all. Bobby is a good, decent man, who means well. He has the homespun accent, and the folksy way of speaking, and he actually is an honourable man. That is why I respect him. But, as he so frankly put it, he had the job, and he quit. He said that he believes in straight talk, so I'll give you some, right now. He resigned the Office suddenly, without warning, telling no one. Therefore, he abandoned all of us. We had no leader, and we had no protector. Lucifer waltzed right into Heaven, took over the High Office, and sent Bobby down to Earth. And because Bobby wasn't God, nor had he arranged for a replacement, we were all held hostage by the Devil. So, I guess Bobby's honesty only goes so far. Whether or not he owes us an explanation for his behaviour, I will leave up to you to decide. But I feel compelled to point out that he didn't seem to have any regard for us when he quit before, so what is to prevent him from leaving us high and dry again, whenever the mood strikes him? And I'm all for the introduction of computers in Heaven, even though I confess to a fondness for my quill pen. But, modernization is a slippery slope. Let us be careful not to become so modern that we descend into Sin."

Patricia paused. So far, she thought she was striking the right tone, halfway between being professional and being blunt. But now that she had broken the ice, she was determined to make her points. "Bobby addressed his love for humans, as did Castiel, but I'm here to tell you that they are wrong. At best, my opponents are naive; at worst, they are putting their affection for humans ahead of Heaven. I've said all along that I'm running on a Heaven First platform. Let humans worry about humans; I'm concerned with Angels, which is as it should be. Maybe we USED to be humans, but we aren't any more. We are on a higher plane now, and if that statement is interpreted to mean that we are 'better', I don't necessarily have a problem with that. We're supposed to be better. We are God's Angels. Humans are inherently sinners. They do what feels good to them, and the hell with everybody else. They're down there right now, drinking alcohol, fornicating, and cursing in our Father's name. And my opponents would have us interacting with them, pandering to them. They are supposed to serve God, not the other way around. Yet every time Castiel's pocket phone rings, he leaves Heaven and goes to Earth whenever they summon him, like a little lap dog. And Bobby was the same way. None of my opponents can be trusted to put Heaven's interests first. I am the only candidate who will do that. If I am elected, the visits to Earth will cease immediately, and so will the Earthly pleasures. We are Angels; it's about time we started acting like it."

She paused to take a breath, and to take the measure of the audience. They were listening quietly, but it was hard to tell if what she was saying was sinking in. She decided to wake them up out of their complacency.

"Castiel has the pedigree that is needed for the High Office. I cannot dispute his lenth of service, nor the fact that God our Father did initially offer him the job. As he said, those things are a matter of public record. But he did turn down the position, in large part due to the fact that he really doesn't want to be here. He cares more about his humans than he does about us. And at that time, before the ancient laws were revised, Angels were unable to be physically intimate with each other. Therefore, he needed to go to Earth and become a human himself, in order to bed his girlfriend. Yes, that's right. He chose to become a human in order to fornicate. And who transformed Castiel and Gail into humans and sent them to Las Vegas, a place that is colloquially called Sin City? You guessed it: their friend, Bobby."

She let that sink in for a moment, and then she continued, "Castiel mentioned the tribunal which took place in this room, calling it a trial. He is actually accurate in that regard: that's exactly what it was. But he completely glossed over the purpose of that proceeding. It wasn't to examine his questionable morals. It was to determine if an individual who had committed as many crimes as Castiel has is fit for the High Office. THAT'S what the hearing was really all about. But he didn't mention that part, did he? Of course not. Castiel's notorious record is detailed in the transcript of that proceeding, and I urge every Angel who wasn't here at the time to read that transcript. I have taken the liberty of making copies, which are available in my campaign office. Please drop by any time, and tell your friends to do the same. Don't let good looks and an easy smile distract you from the truth. And don't be swayed by the words of love Castiel professes for his wife. That's all smoke and mirrors. I'm not saying they don't love each other, but so did Bonnie and Clyde, from what I understand."

Patricia smiled coldly. "Castiel claims that he has learned from the mistakes he has made, but I disagree. He is still making them, and it is us who are paying for them. And while it is indeed true that none of us are perfect, he is so far from it that it astonishes me that he has the sheer audacity to stand here and ask you to elect him to lead us. He also didn't mention that, at the end of the tribunal, he was sentenced to death for his many crimes."

There was a collective gasp from the audience, making Patricia happy. Now, she was getting through to them. But they hadn't heard anything yet.

Gail's lips were pursed again, and her hands were clenched together. None of what Patricia was saying was particularly surprising; they'd known she was going to come after Cas with both barrels. She had to. He was her main competition. But it was hard to just listen to stuff like that and not react. She glanced at Castiel. He was expressionless, standing stoically like the soldier he'd once been. Bobby looked pissed off, but he was standing still, as well. Gail started making a few mental notes on points she thought Cas should make during the rebuttal phase. She would have to talk to him about it during the break.

Patricia was still talking: "Castiel tells you that he is not a violent individual, but if you'll read the transcript, you will see that he admitted right here in this very room that he has murdered so many Angels that he has lost count. It's funny; I didn't see any mention in there about him having killed any humans. Not even one. Just his fellow Angels. Think about that for a moment. Untold numbers of Angels, dead at his hands. But not one human. So, when push comes to shove, as the expression goes, where do you think his loyalty lies? 'Lies' being the operative word, of course. One of the only truths Castiel told you in his speech was how much he loves his human 'family'. We are supposedly his Brothers and Sisters, yet he kills us, and reveres the humans."

Patricia paused again, and then she glanced at Gail. "I'm reluctant to speak to Gail's platform, because some of the things she stands for, I wholeheartedly agree with. But again, it's a slippery slope. While I am obviously in favour of equal opportunity for women, I do not think that we need to sacrifice our femininity or our morals to accomplish that. The old laws that she rewrote were not necessarily detrimental to women, but they did speak to the way that we should conduct ourselves as Angels. To be very frank about the matter, Gail is a loose woman, who wanted to have sex with a man that she was not married to at the time. That is why she wanted those laws rewritten."

Yikes, Gail thought. That was frank, all right. But, look where they were. She'd been called a whore by Xavier in this very same room during the tribunal, and she'd survived. She risked a look at Cas again, who was working his jaw now. But he wasn't taking the bait. Gail was very proud of him for holding onto his temper like this. While she normally loved it when he defended her honour, this wasn't the forum in which to do it.

"Diversity is wonderful, in principle," Patricia went on, "but we also have to make sure that the Angels who are making important decisions on our behalf are of the correct moral fibre. I am also proud to be standing here today as a female candidate for the High Office, but I do so humbly, with modesty. You will never see me wearing blue jeans, getting drunk, and engaging in inappropriate displays of public affection. I DO know my place, Gail. I am a lady."

Cas's eyes flashed, but he still said nothing. Gail was starting to worry now. If this went on much longer, he was going to lose his cool. Which was the whole point, Gail was sure. If Patricia could get Cas to freak out in front of all of Heaven, they would never be able to convince those Angels who didn't know him that he didn't have a violent temper.

But suddenly, Patricia smiled at the crowd. "And one of the hallmarks of being a lady is knowing when to stop talking. So I'll conclude my opening remarks now, and turn things over to our moderator. Thank you for your kind attention."

There was silence for a moment, and then, scattered applause. Gail let out the breath she'd been holding. But even as she was feeling relief, she was also suspicious. Why had Patricia just let Cas off the hook like that? One or two more jabs at Gail like those, and she would have had him foaming at the mouth.

"We will now hold a 15-minute break," Ogden announced. "Then, the rebuttal phase will begin."

Gail moved to Cas immediately, taking both of his hands in hers. "OK, you can un-clench now," she joked, trying to make him smile.

But instead, he was frowning. "She is not making a speech for candidacy, she is indulging in character assassination, pure and simple. Had she been a man, I would have punched her in the face by now."

"Well then, it's a good thing she's not a man. That's exactly what she's trying to do, Cas. Make you freak out. I'm proud of you for not taking the bait," Gail told him. "Now, take a couple of minutes to calm down, and start thinking about your rebuttal. I'm going to jot down a few notes, too."

Bobby approached the couple. "Are you all right, dear?" he asked Gail.

"Me?" she scoffed. "I'm fine. I've been called a lot worse, by a much better class of people."

"I don't think I've ever seen you hold your temper like that," Bobby said to Cas, lowering his voice. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were on tranquilizers."

CAs smiled faintly, appreciating his friend's attempt at humour. "Well, I'm not, but maybe I'll need to be, after this is over. I just can't believe she's the same woman who attended Frank's wedding, and ours."

"YOU can't believe it? She was my date," Bobby quipped. "Well, I guess the bloom is off that rose."

They all retreated into separate corners of the room with their campaign managers, like boxers between rounds. Then, when there were only a couple of minutes left to the break, they reconvened at Ogden's table to draw the order in which the rebuttals would take place.

"Ladies first," Ogden said, gesturing to Patricia and Gail.

"Oh, well then, I obviously can't pick," Gail said tartly, putting her hands up in the air.

Both Cas and Bobby tried not to smile as Patricia glared at Gail. Patricia picked the number 4, which meant that her rebuttal would be last. Now it was Gail's turn to glare. Both times, Patricia was going to get the last word. Were she and Ogden cheating, somehow? It was so unfair.

Then the rest of them drew, and the speaking order was exactly the same as it had been in the first round. So when the break was over, Bobby went first.

"I'm not gonna use up all my allotted time," he said. "There's really not much left to say. Besides, I get the feeling that Cas might need a little extra time. Let him have my minutes." A ripple of nervous laughter went through the room.

Bobby continued, "The only thing I did want to speak to is the notion that if I'm elected, I would leave you all high and dry. That would never happen. I freely admit that my previous resignation was a mistake, but I promise you that it will not happen again. You have my word. And the only other thing I wanted to address is the peculiar notion that computers somehow lead to sin. But aside from that, you folks know what I'm all about. And that's all I've got to say."

Then Cas came forward, and his eyes were blazing. "I appreciate my esteemed opponent Bobby giving me his extra time, because I believe I may need all of it," he said with an edge to his voice. "Patricia was very direct with her criticisms, so I will respond in kind. It is a patent untruth that I put humans ahead of Heaven. There is absolutely no reason that we cannot serve God and Heaven by helping humans. None at all. At the risk of proving Patricia right and showing myself as a Sinner, sinning in Pride, I am happy to say that I knew God our Father personally. The few times I was lucky enough to have an audience with Him, He expressed to me that love and compassion for the human race was one of our finest qualities, and because I demonstrated those qualities very well, He was sending me to lead the garrison into Hell to rescue Dean Winchester from an undeserved fate. Then, once I had done that, God allowed me to continue to do His work on Earth. With all due respect to Patricia, those were the Father's wishes, and He never accused me of turning my back on Heaven. Rather, he encouraged me to learn from humans, and I think I can safely say that they have learned from me, too. And if God didn't have a problem with the so-called sinners who are my friends and family, then unless Patricia thinks she is above the Father, I feel that my point is made. I do not pander to humans, but I do not pander to Patricia, either. She has been up here preaching to all of us, calling us all Sinners with loose morals, and quite frankly, I think she's got a lot of nerve. How dare she lecture me about behaving like an Angel? I know how to behave like an Angel. Does she?"

Cas took a deep breath. He didn't want his anger to get the best of him. He stole a glance at Gail, hoping that the sight of his wife would calm him down. But she was looking at him so sweetly and so proudly that Cas became even more agitated.

"I am not going to dignify Patricia's outrageous remarks by commenting on my love life with my wife," Cas said, with a tremble in his voice. "That is our business, and our business alone. But the fact that she stood here in front of all of Heaven calling Gail a loose woman is something I cannot ignore. I told Gail during the break that, had Patricia been a man, I would have gone over there and punched her right in the face. I don't care if that makes me seem violent. No one is entitled to say anything like that about my wife. No one."

It didn't surprise Gail that Cas was saying what he was saying, even though it was probably a bad idea. But then, an amazing thing happened: as she looked out at the audience, many of the Angels were smiling. Obviously, they were reacting favourably to Cas's standing up for his wife.

"So, because I will not comment further on the ridiculous comments that Patricia has made about my human friends and my wife, the only other topic to address would be the tribunal. I cannot dispute that the board sentenced me to death in this very room at its conclusion. But if you read that transcript, you will find Xavier's version of the truth in those pages, not mine. And the reason for that is because I was not allowed to utter one word during those proceedings. There is a term that humans use for that. They call it being 'railroaded'. I reiterate that Xavier convinced the remainder of the board to pass the death sentence upon me because he wanted the Office for himself. So then they executed me, and they dragged Gail into the execution chamber, gave her a front-row seat, and forced her to watch."

The Angels gasped again, and Cas looked at Patricia. "She accuses me of not telling the entire truth, but I notice she didn't tell you that part, did she? She likened myself and Gail to Bonnie and Clyde, but I submit to you that we are more like Romeo and Juliet. I do not 'profess' to love my wife. I simply DO love my wife, with all my heart and soul, and every fibre of my being. The types of people who strove to tear us apart are the types of people who believe in the ancient laws, and the old ways. Patricia seeks to pass legislation that would prevent me from holding the hand of the woman I love in public. Is that the kind of Heaven that you want? Will she re-paint everything white, and make laughter, or even smiling, illegal, too? If that kind of Draconian society appeals to you, then by all means, vote for Patricia. But if you seek the freedom to make your own choices, including who you may love, then I ask you to cast your vote for me. Thank you."

There was another round of applause for Cas as he stepped back. Gail smiled at her husband as she stepped forward. Once again, he had done a masterful job of refuting everything that Patricia had said without losing his temper, or going too far. She had never been prouder of him.

But, before Gail could speak, Patricia had another surprise for them.

"I fear I have been unfair," Patricia said loudly. She stepped forward now. "With the moderator's permission, I would like to offer to switch places with Gail. During the break, we chose numbers to decide in which order we would speak. But Gail did not pick her number first, as she should have. Therefore, in the interests of fair play, I request to take my turn now, and allow Gail to go last."

Gail's eyebrows raised. What was this, now? Was Patricia actually sorry for the digs she'd made at Gail earlier? Had what Cas had said gotten through to her, maybe? If it was a tactical move on Patricia's part, Gail was unable to see the benefit. Usually in these types of situations, you wanted to have the last word. People had short memories, and if whoever went last finished up strong, it was their remarks that would resonate the loudest.

"What do you say, Gail?" Ogden asked her. "Do you have any objection?"

She could think of none, so Gail said, "No, I guess not," and she moved back.

Patricia stepped up. "You have all been very patient, attentive listeners," she told the Angels. "Therefore, I will be as succinct as possible. My opponents seem to favour the expression 'the bottom line', so I will deliver that to you now. Some of what I say will be graphic, and almost all of it will be shocking. For that, I apologize, in advance. But our time is growing short, so I have little choice. I gave both Bobby and Castiel two opportunities to tell all of you the whole truth about themselves, but they chose instead to talk about humans, and computers, and to hide behind the mask of perceived righteousness. Well, let me 'bottom line' some things for you now."

Patricia paused for dramatic effect, and then she began to speak again. "Bobby quit the High Office because the job became too hard for him. He is a weak man, who would rather spend time drinking with humans and jumping into bed with witches than do his duty in Heaven. But that's all right; he's not sinning by having relations out of wedlock. That's right: Bobby and the witch Rowena were married on Earth in a drunken, Unholy, so-called ceremony. And who is Rowena, you may ask? She is an ancient witch, a practitioner of the dark arts, and as if that isn't bad enough, she is the King of Hell's mother! Yes, that's right. Let that sink in for a moment. Bobby, the man who wants to be your next God, is Crowley's father-in-law. I'll give you a second to consider the sheer gall of the man. I'm surprised Bobby doesn't burst into flames every time he sits down at his own desk, let alone trying to enter the High Office! On second thought, perhaps we should let him try. God the Father would probably reduce him to ashes. He should be ashamed of himself."

Bobby was doing the slow burn now. She'd picked one hell of a time to bring that up. He'd already used up his rebuttal. Not that he could have said much about it, because most of what she was saying was more or less the truth. Patricia was putting the most negative spin on it, of course, but the crux of what she was saying was true. Still, it occurred to him now to wonder how Patricia could possibly have known about that. Bobby sure as hell never told her.

The audience of Angels was murmuring now, shocked by Patricia's remarks. But she was just getting started.

"And then, there's the famous Castiel, who is not so much famous as notorious," Patricia said dryly. "His record is the stuff of legend. But, not in a good way. He may appear to be a hero to some of you, because he has an entire campaign team whose job it is to design aesthetically pleasing posters of him, depicting him as such. But underneath it all, the reality is quite different. Don't just take my word for it. Talk to people who were here during the tribunal. Read those transcripts. I would say to talk to Angels who were here during the Angel Wars, but sadly, I cannot, as Castiel tortured and killed most of those Angels. Another thing he didn't tell you while he was so busy portraying himself as an innocent victim was the fact that he murdered two young deputies here in this very room during the tribunal, young Angels who were simply trying to do their jobs, in a desperate attempt to escape justice. I don't remember Romeo and Juliet ever doing that! No one ever talks about those things, but they should. Come to think of it, is it just me, or do you find it odd that no one ever does talk about Castiel's crimes anymore? Perhaps he or his team have employed bribery to cover them up, or worse, threats. I myself have never been approached, because they know I would have far too much integrity to ever consider being coerced into keeping the truth from all of you like that. So I admit that I cannot state that as a fact. Still, one has to wonder."

Crap, Gail thought. The fact of the matter was that she had forgotten that Cas had killed those deputies, right here in this room, as Patricia had said. He'd felt terrible about it as soon as it had happened, but it had been too late to take it back. He had felt cornered at the time, desperate. Patricia had been right about that part. But, Heaven had been seeking to put him to death at the time, and tragic as they were, she and Cas had viewed those killings as self-defense. Still, it hurt badly to have Patricia mention them now. Gail was listening very carefully for things that she could turn back around in her rebuttal, but so far, there wasn't much. Bobby HAD had an intimate relationship with Rowena, and she WAS the King of Hell's mother. Cas HAD been sentenced to death at the tribunal, and he HAD killed those deputies. And even Patricia's outrageous insinuations that Cas or his campaign team had engaged in coercion to cover up those killings was only being presented as speculation, not fact.

"Don't be fooled, people," Patricia continued. "Xavier was hardly a pillar of virtue as an individual, I will concede that fact. But he knew that Castiel is a brutal, dangerously violent man, and Xavier was trying to protect Heaven from him. And what thanks did Xavier get, for his efforts to protect us all? Castiel was given the gift, somewhat inexplicably, of being God for a day, following the tribunal. And instead of doing God's work, as he has baldly stated that he has been doing, his first official acts were those of vengeance. He got rid of everyone who had tried to stand against him at the time. Now, let's think about that, for a moment. Here he is, seeking to be God, and the first thing he does is get back at people. Not exactly the model of kindness and benevolence, is that? How do we know that he won't do the same to any of us, if elected? Perhaps my campaign team should employ bodyguards. For that matter, perhaps I should, too. In any event, if he is elected, I expect that Castiel will be a wrathful God. His temper is legendary. Mark my words: soon after he took the Office, we would be plunged into a Holy War with Crowley and his denizens. Castiel likes bloodshed. What do you think he's doing over there at that Academy of his? Training his Army, that's what. Taking young, impressionable Angels and using them to feed his war machine. He's even got female cadets. Young ladies, who will be offered up to quench his thirst for violence. The younger Angels among you have no idea what things were like in the time of the Angel Wars. The unspeakable things that were allowed to happen, things that Castiel was a part of."

Cas was looking at Patricia, astonished. Anyone taking what she was saying now as gospel would think that he was a monster, to rival Lucifer himself. Patricia was unbelievable. She was an expert at taking facts and distorting them to paint the worst possible picture. He studied the faces of the Angels in the audience, wondering if they believed in what Patricia was alleging. It was impossible to tell.

"And why would Castiel want to engage in a Holy War with Crowley, you might ask?" Patricia said now. She turned her head to look at Cas, a funny little half-smile on her face. His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. Oh, no. She couldn't possibly be about to say what he feared she was about to say. But, how could she know? Only his closest friends and family knew.

Patricia turned back to the audience. "I'll tell you why," she said smugly. "It's because Crowley, the King of Hell, is Castiel's brother. Castiel was telling you the truth when he said he has been around since the Beginning. In fact, he has been around since the VERY Beginning. Castiel's true identity is Abel, and Crowley's true identity is Cain."

There was bedlam in the room. The Angels were so shocked by this bit of information that they erupted into gasps, and loud conversation. As Patricia stood there, smiling grimly, Ogden began to rap his gavel on the table. "Silence! Quiet, please!" he shouted.

Gail felt nauseous. There was no way they could refute that little item, because it was one hundred percent true. But it had nothing to do with the election. Yes, Cas and Crowley had a contentious relationship, but that didn't mean that Cas was going to start a Holy War with the King of Hell over it. What would be the point of that? If Cas had wanted to kill Crowley, he would have done it by now. In fact, he HAD done that, at one point, way back when Crowley had first held Gail hostage, when she and Cas and the Winchesters had first made each other's acquaintance. But she'd better not mention THAT in her rebuttal, not when Patricia was painting Cas as a bloodthirsty killer.

When the spectators had finally calmed down enough for Patricia to be able to be heard again, Patricia looked at Gail. "As I believe I've said before, a part of me is reluctant to speak against my counterpart," Patricia said. "Even though I'm an older Angel, and admittedly old-fashioned in many respects, I am willing to concede that Gail does have a point or two to make about women's rights. It's just unfortunate that the Angel who is attempting to elevate the status of women in Heaven is such a bottom-feeder herself. Quite frankly, she is a little slut, who aspires way above her station. Gail has less than a decade of service to her credit, and she presumes to take the Highest Office in Heaven? On what merits? What has she ever done, besides ride her husband's blood-stained coattails? She is the worst sort of woman. She drinks, and she swears, and she acts like a tramp. And Castiel doesn't correct her, because he likes her that way. Gail would do nothing but lead Heaven down the path of Sin. It's ironic that she and Castiel were talking about love and tolerance and doing God's work earlier, isn't it? Castiel's brother is the King of Hell, and Gail's brother is a former Knight of Hell. Yes, that's right. You heard me. These are the types of individuals who are campaigning to be your next God. And, if you need a further reason not to vote for Gail, I'll give you another one: recently, she used a revival spell from a book of the darkest magic imaginable to bring their human friend, Dean Winchester, back from the dead. So, there are your three other choices for the Highest Office that Heaven has to offer: an alcoholic weakling, a psychotic killer, and a whore, who dabbles in dark magic."

"Enough!" Cas shouted, his eyes blazing. He took a step towards Patricia, but Gail held up her hand, panicked now. So he stopped, but he was glaring daggers at Patricia. "How dare you!" he exclaimed. "Gail is a good Angel, and a kind and loving woman! She is not a whore! You know nothing about us, and our personal lives! You can say anything you want to about me. I don't care. I have been insulted and disrespected in Heaven for centuries. But don't you dare say such filthy things about Gail! I won't have it!"

"Oh? And what will you do about it, Castiel?" Patricia asked him calmly. "Pull that Angel blade I know you're never without, and stab me to death with it? Add me to the body count? Well, at least you're consistent. You've already killed a couple of Angels in this room, and you've already been sentenced for capital crimes in this room. Thank you for helping me to prove my point."

Gail was looking at Cas, appealing to him with her eyes to calm down. But secretly, she was glad that he had finally spoken up. If Patricia had called her a whore one more time, Gail might have to take a poke at the woman herself. A nervous giggle bubbled up in her throat and she managed to manufacture it into a cough. That would be all that Gail would need right now: Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and look at the laughing slut, who wants to be God. Lord help her.

Miraculously, Cas stood down, but Gail could tell it was taking a Herculean effort on his part to do so. Now the Angels were talking amongst themselves again, and Ogden was rapping his gavel again. Once the room had quieted down, Ogden told Patricia to proceed.

But now, Bobby piped up: "She's overrun her allotted time," he pointed out.

"Yes, but we've had a couple of outbursts," Ogden countered. "Therefore, she will be allowed some more time."

Patricia smiled. "Thank you, Ogden. I won't be much longer, anyway. I only have a couple more points to make, but I feel that they are very important ones. In case anyone still feels that Castiel is the preferable option, possibly because Gail is such a poor alternative, be very, very careful there. Anyone who knows the couple knows that Gail leads her husband around by that part of the anatomy that men use to...well, we're all adults here. If Gail has an agenda, or an issue she wants pushed through, Castiel will be swift to act upon it, simply to appease her. And if you don't believe that's true, I can tell you for a fact that he will do whatever she says, because I was a guest at their wedding on Earth. As part of their vows, Castiel vowed obedience and subservience to his wife, not the other way around. I couldn't believe my own ears. And if you still don't believe me, you can ask Bobby, the man who believes in honesty. He was there too, sitting right beside me at the time."

There were two ladies from the Heavenly Hostesses in the front row who gasped audibly at that, and they glared at Gail now as if she was Lucifer himself. Holy moly. She pursed her lips together, willing herself not to roll her eyes. She was surprised that Ogden wasn't running over there with the smelling salts. Another laugh threatened to escape from her. Maybe she should ask Cas to go down there and talk to them. But then again, maybe not. Then they would probably just slump to the floor, in a dead faint.

"That concludes my remarks," Patricia said abruptly, stepping back from the podium. Gail was caught by surprise. Oh. Right. She was supposed to go, now. She moved up to the lectern.

"You know, if people are going to keep calling me a whore in this room, I'm going to have to quit coming here," Gail quipped nervously. The room was completely silent now, as the Angels tried to deal with the shock of all the things they had just heard. Gail was shaking from anger and stress, and as she went to put her notes on the lectern, her eyes started to blur with tears, and she missed. The pages fluttered to the floor. "I'm sorry," she said awkwardly. She bent down to pick them up and suddenly her head swam, and she greyed out. Great. She'd just been joking to herself about the Heavenly Hostesses fainting, and now she was going to be the one doing it.

Gail sat down heavily on the floor, willing herself to hold it together. What the hell was the matter with her? This was the most important moment of her existence as an Angel, and she was behaving like a Victorian spinster with the vapours, or something.

"Call a recess," Cas said loudly, rushing over to her. He got down on his knees in front of her. "Are you all right, Gail?"

"I think so," she said in a small voice. "I just...need a minute..."

"Call a recess!" Cas shouted at Ogden.

"We've already run over the time allotted for rebuttals," Ogden said sternly.

"So what?" Bobby said angrily. "We're all eternal beings, here. Would it kill ya to show a little compassion? Call the damn recess!"

Ogden sighed, rapping his gavel on the table. "Fine. You have five minutes."

"I'm sorry, Cas," Gail said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I just need a minute to get my notes together..."

"Forget the notes," he said in a thick voice. He took the papers gently from her hands and put them to the side. "Come here." He took her in his arms, cradling her. "I love you, Gail," Cas murmured. "Shhh. It's OK. Don't cry, please. No one is going to harm you here, I promise. Shhh."

Now the tears were coming in full force. She clung to him, choking back a sob. "I'm sorry, Cas," she said again. "I'll be OK in a second. Just give me a second."

"Take all the time you need," he said softly. He reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and brought out a handkerchief. As Gail sniffled back the tears, he dabbed her face gently with it.

"I have to speak now, Cas," she told him, still sniffling. "I have to tell them she's wrong about you."

"You don't have to do anything," he said to her. "You just have to be all right. That's all you have to do."

"But, Cas..." she protested. He kissed her on the forehead. "Don't you worry about me," Cas said, touching her face. "I'll be just fine. As long as you're okay, that's all I care about. Her insults about me are meaningless. But if she says one more thing about you, I will do something about it."

"No, Cas! Promise me! That's just what she wants!" Gail exclaimed, panicked. She clutched at him. "Please!" She sniffled once more, and then she leaned forward, kissing him gently on the cheek. "My five minutes are up. I'm OK, sweetie. Really, I am. Now give me my notes, please. I've got to get up there."

Cas gathered up her notes, handing them to her. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked her, his forehead wrinkling.

"As long as I have you, I'm always all right," she replied, smiling at him. She started to rise, and he helped her to her feet. She touched his face again, then turned around and stood at the lectern. As Cas slowly walked back to his position, Gail was gratified to see that the expressions on many of the Angels' faces had softened. When Patricia had been speaking, they had looked shocked and angry. But now, they looked sympathetic, and some of them were even smiling at her and Cas. After that barrage from Patricia, that was a small victory in and of itself. Gail decided to take advantage.

"The Castiel you just saw is the real Castiel, not the one that Patricia is trying to sell you on," Gail said with a trace of bitterness. "As she was speaking, I made a few notes. Patricia talked about the bottom line. Well, the bottom line is that she claims to be a proponent of honesty and speaking freely, but that's only when it applies to her, or her supporters. Free thought will be encouraged under her administration, all right. Everyone is free to think exactly like Patricia. And I don't know about you guys, but that philosophy sounds all too familiar to me. There was a group called the Nazis in the 1940s who behaved much the same way."

"Are you calling me a Nazi?" Patricia said angrily.

Gail wheeled on her. "You had your say. This is my time, and I am speaking now," she retorted. Patricia's mouth closed with a snap, and Cas and Bobby smiled. Gail was back.

She turned to the audience again. Then she sighed. "Look, I don't know exactly why Bobby quit the Office," she went on. "He never said, and we never asked. But, who among us has never made a mistake before? He was a very good God, and I would be happy to serve under him again. What he did when he was a human has no relevance here. So, he had a drink once in a while, so what? We don't drink here, so it's a moot point. And Rowena seems to think that she and Bobby are married, but they're not. I'm sure Bobby would tell you that his relationship with her was probably not the best idea in the world. But I know for a fact that there are many, many people who've had at least one relationship in their lives that they regret. Patricia is just indulging in character assassination. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Bobby. Nothing. He's an honest, decent man, who only wants what's best for us." She turned around to look at Bobby, and he sketched her a brief salute. "Thank you, dear," he said softly.

Gail sighed again, looking back at the audience. "The reason Castiel's posters depict him as a hero is simply because he IS one. Ever since the day I met him, he has been fighting Evil, and saving people. I should know. I'm one of the people he saved. Patricia keeps hammering away at the tribunal. Read the transcripts. Read the transcripts. Well, you know what? Those transcripts are worthless. That tribunal was nothing but a farce. It was a persecution, plain and simple, and the transcript is a five-thousand-page piece of garbage. Having said that, there are some facts we can't deny. Yes, those unfortunate deaths did occur here. But, you have to understand what it was like. They were going to put Cas to death. To death! We're supposed to be Angels, yet every time we turn around, someone is trying to hurt Cas, or to kill him. Xavier and the board always treated him like a piece of trash. They ostracized him, they insulted him, and then, they eliminated him. And for no other reason than ambition, and jealousy. If Cas is supposedly such a danger to Heaven, then how is it that we're all still here? He's had untold centuries to wreak havoc. If he's so dangerously violent, why are there scores of Angels lining up to take his class? What exactly was Xavier supposed to be protecting us FROM?"

Gail was starting to get on a roll now, and she was sure that she was getting through to some of the Angels. "We were very fortunate to get a visit from God Himself following the tribunal, and He told Cas, Bobby and myself that we had His approval. When He gave Cas the great honour of being God for a day, it's true that Cas did deal with the board. But he showed fairness and compassion in doing it. Ask Daniel, and Gregory. I notice Patricia didn't mention them in her diatribe. When you're talking to people, make sure you talk to them, too. They repented of the way they had treated him, and they apologized to him. He didn't wreak vengeance on them, and he didn't get rid of them. They still serve today. And the Angel who headed up the board, Ignatius, the one who cast the deciding vote for death against Castiel? He asked to be turned into a human, so he could go to Earth and find his daughter, who he was estranged from. So, not only did Cas send Ignatius to one of our young Angels to locate his daughter, using one of Bobby's 'sinful' computers, but Cas refused to turn him into a human, letting Ignatius retain all of his Heavenly privileges. Huh. Some vengeance. He did send Lanister to jail for uttering death threats, and he sent Xavier and Alexander to Earth as humans, because they deserved it. The fact that they died when they were there and then went to Hell isn't Cas's fault. It speaks to the way they led their lives."

Gail paused. She'd better get off that topic now. She'd glossed over the fact that Cas had murdered Lanister after sending him to prison. He'd done that to protect her, but she didn't want the Angels starting to wonder why she hadn't specified Lanister's eventual fate. The last thing they would need would be to throw the spotlight on yet another murder that Cas had committed, as noble as the motivation for it might have been. "I also notice that Patricia didn't mention another thing that Castiel did when he was God. There was an earthquake in Haiti that day, a devastating one. You can also look that up, while you're doing your research. As soon as Cas heard about it, he insisted that we rush down there and try to help. We healed some people, but there was little else that we could do. One rather ugly truth about being God is that you can't just fix things like that. Not without upsetting the apple cart. But my point is, that's EXACTLY the model of kindness and benevolence that Castiel demonstrated, not one of wrath or bloodshed. Castiel would be a loving and caring God. He doesn't want to start a Holy War, or a war with anyone. When we first opened the Academy, he emphasized to the cadets that it was a voluntary self-defense class, and that none of them would be ordered to fight. The purpose of the Academy is to train those who want to learn how to protect themselves, and others, against attack. One of the reasons that Lucifer was able to waltz in here and take over as easily as he did was that we didn't have anyone here who could, or would, stand up to him."

Now, it was Patricia who lost her temper. "No, it was because you and Castiel were too busy fornicating to come when I called!" she screamed.

Everyone's eyes turned to her. She was shaking with rage, but she regretted her outburst instantly. She mustn't look crazy. She mustn't look crazy.

Ogden rapped his gavel. He had bent over backward to make sure that Patricia received all the advantages he could give her in this proceeding, but he couldn't appear to be too overt about it, either. And this was the second time she'd interrupted Gail in a short space of time.

"Ma'am, you have had your rebuttal," Ogden said to Patricia. "Please refrain from interrupting again."

But Patricia had no intention of interrupting Gail again. She had come dangerously close to making her admission, in front of all of Heaven. She would sooner die than to have anyone find out about the painfully disgusting things that Lucifer had done to her in that office.

Gail cleared her throat. She was glad of the interruption, but...wow. Where did they go from here? She and Cas HAD been in bed, and they HAD turned off their frequencies. But it was Ethan who had invited Lucifer into Heaven, and at that time, they'd had no idea how to oust him. As soon as they'd found out how to kick Lucifer out, they had done so. But the fact of the matter was, even if they had been reachable that day, there would have been nothing they could have done. Once again, Gail wondered what had happened that day between Lucifer and Patricia. If anything. With Gail, Lucifer had pretty much been all talk. He'd had a number of chances to rape her, and he'd often talked about doing it, yet he never had. It had probably been the same story with Patricia, but because Patricia was so strait-laced, she probably counted that kind of thing as being violated. And while Gail agreed that if that had happened, it was a shame, but that was still no reason to launch the kind of cruel vendetta that Patricia was engaging in now.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Gail remarked coolly. "But it reminds me that I did want to address one more point: Cas never told anyone outside our immediate circle that Crowley was his brother back at the time of Creation, because it isn't relevant. You probably think I'm crazy for saying that, but it's true. That was a long, long time ago, and Cas was Cain's victim back then. But they have been able to co-exist all these years without starting a war, so there's no logic to the argument that Cas would just suddenly start one now, out of the blue. Although, I'll admit that Crowley is hardly his favourite person. But, seeing as he's the King of Hell, I should hope that would be the case."

Gail allowed herself a small smile, and some of the Angels smiled, too. But then her smile faded as she continued, "Let me tell you all something, though. I joked about it earlier to point out the absurdity of it all, but I'll never understand why people keep calling me a whore. Seriously. At the risk of oversharing, as the expression goes, Castiel is the only man I've ever lain with. The only one. I repeat: the only man I've ever made love with is my husband. If I was down on Earth working street corners, I'd have died of hunger by now. If I'm a whore, I'm certainly not a very good one. And yes, I'm being completely facetious about this now, because the notion is so absurd it's ridiculous. All it is, is childish name-calling. You're supposed to be better than that, aren't you, Patricia? She claims to feel solidarity with me on the issue of women's rights, yet she stands up here and calls me a slut. Every time that happens, it sets the movement back a couple of hundred years. That's just the kind of activity that less-enlightened men would expect from us, and it's what we have to rise above, if we ever expect to be taken seriously. Nevertheless, I will concede that she raises an interesting point about my length of service, and my qualifications for the job. At the end of the day, that's what this is supposed to be all about. Not insults and petty name-calling, but strong, steady leadership."

She sighed. "So that's why I'm withdrawing from the campaign, effective immediately. I sincerely apologize to all of you, but I have my reasons. I would like to thank my campaign team for all of their hard work, and I urge my supporters to join me in supporting Castiel for the Office. With apologies to Bobby, Castiel is the longest-serving Angel, the best qualified, the strongest leader, and he is God's choice. Let him be yours, too."

As Gail gathered up her notes and walked away from the podium, the room was silent again as the Angels processed the shock of one of the candidates quitting with less than two weeks to go until the election. But Gail was at peace with her decision. She walked over to where Castiel stood and took his hand, and he looked down at her, concerned. But then she smiled, and he returned her smile.

The Angels applauded, and then Ogden rapped the gavel. "Ten-minute recess, and then the question period will commence," he announced.

Amid the hubbub of the Angels talking excitedly about what they'd just seen and heard, Bobby came over to where Cas and Gail stood. "Are you sure you want to do this, Gail?" Bobby asked her.

"It's already done, Bobby. And yes, I'm sure," she told him, putting her hand on his arm. "We all know the real reason I threw my hat in the ring in the first place, but I can't continue to kid myself. I meant it when I said I'm not qualified to do the job. I hope you're not mad that I'm endorsing Cas, but I also meant what I said about you. I would be happy to serve you."

"Really?" he said, his beard twitching. "I was always kinda under the impression that it was the other way around."

Gail laughed delightedly. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for that, Bobby." Then she looked at Cas. "I'm going to pull up a chair in the audience for the question period. If you need to, just look at me, and if you get asked a tough question, just remember how much I believe in you. Then the answer will come."

"You are the most amazing woman I have ever met," Cas told her. He was dazed by the courage she had just demonstrated. "You withstood everything she threw at you with dignity and humour, and you showed your love for me by taking my part, without stooping to her level. I love you, my darling. Not only that, but I respect and admire you, more than I could possibly ever say," Cas said softly.

"Good. Just remember that, the next time I ask you to take out the garbage," she quipped, and they smiled at each other.

When the break was over, Ogden announced that a total of twelve questions would be allowed from the audience, four per candidate. It was supposed to have been three each, of course, but fortunately, the math still worked out.

Bobby and Cas braced themselves, but the questions were surprisingly softball in nature. It was as if Gail's point about name-calling and insults had hit home. Even Patricia comported herself professionally when answering her questions. She made no reference to the other candidates, concentrating instead on her own platform.

That was, until the final question. With only one left to go, she nodded imperceptibly to Ogden, and he walked down the aisle holding the microphone. He stopped at Alan's chair. "You had a question for Patricia?" Ogden asked Alan.

"Yes," Patricia's inside man said. He stood, facing the stage. "Is it true that you have actual evidence in your possession which reveals the dark side of Castiel's nature? Physical, tangible evidence?"

Patricia pretended to hesitate. "Yes," she finally said.

"Well then, why have you not produced it here?" Alan said in an irritated tone.

"I was going to, but after I was accused of character assassination, I was not sure if I should," Patricia replied.

"If you're telling the truth, and such evidence exists, I want to see it," Alan insisted, playing his part well. He looked around at his fellow audience members. "Don't all of you want to see it, too? If it even exists, that is."

The crowd started to murmur. Some of them were nodding their heads now.

"Very well," Patricia said, sighing. She reached into the pocket of her suit jacket and pulled out a scroll of paper and a cassette tape.

Gail's eyes widened. What could those possibly be? She looked at Cas, who gave her a half-shrug.

Patricia came down to the floor and handed both items to Ogden, who returned to his seat at the moderator's table. Patricia spoke to him in a low voice for a moment, and then she returned to the stage. She looked at Cas, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"We would not normally allow this sort of thing within the debate framework, but what candidate Patricia alleges is on this tape is so shocking that, if it is true, everyone in Heaven needs to hear it," Ogden said gravely. He reached underneath the table and brought out a tape recorder. He placed it on the table and inserted the tape.

He already had a tape recorder under the table! Gail thought. This was a setup, pure and simple. They'd planned this all along. This was unbelievable.

Ogden lowered the microphone to the tape recorder and pushed Play. There was hissing for a moment, and then Cas's voice issued from the tape. It was his voice, all right. There could be no dispute. And he was saying the most hateful, disgusting things. Using racial epithets, each one worse than the last. Vowing his loyalty to a white supremacist organization. Promising to kill for them.

Gail was going to be sick. This would be a first for Heaven; an Angel actually throwing up in public. Cas sat stonily as the recording went on and on. Then it finally, mercifully concluded, and Ogden shut off the recorder. The room was as silent as a tomb. Which was appropriate, if she thought about it, Gail realized. What she'd just heard was likely the death knell of Cas's candidacy.

"The scroll I gave Ogden is the same disgusting oath," Patricia said loudly, breaking the silence. "And it is signed by Castiel himself. In blood."

Bobby, Cas and Gail sat morosely on the couches in her office after the debate, avoiding each other's gaze. None of them had spoken since they got here. What was there to say, really?

Gail was fed up. "That stuff was taken totally out of context!" she exclaimed. "And, because she held onto it until the question period, we didn't even get a chance to explain!"

Cas was miserable. "Be that as it may, I said those things, and I signed that oath. I cannot claim otherwise."

"I know, but - " Gail let out a frustrated breath. "That was a total setup! If Ogden supposedly had no idea what Patricia was going to do, then why did he have a tape recorder all ready to go? And that guy Alan, the one who asked the question? Liz told me she's seen him in Patricia's campaign office! The guy was a private investigator on Earth. A private investigator!"

"He obviously tracked that Benoit bastard down, and got that stuff from him," Bobby said angrily.

"It doesn't matter," Cas said glumly. "None of that matters. I'm done."

"No, you're not," Gail said firmly. "Tomorrow we're going to sit down and write an open letter to all the Angels, explaining the context, and why you had to do that. It was in order to get that Tablet, so we could get rid of Lucifer. They need to know the rest of the story, and they're going to know the rest of the story!"

Suddenly, Gail's office phone rang. She walked over to her desk, picked it up, and then put it back down, after listening for a moment. "That was someone from Patricia's team. She wants to see all of us in the boardroom, right away."

"Great. I was hoping we wouldn't have to look at her smug expression any more today," Bobby lamented.

"She's probably looking for my resignation, as well," Cas said soberly. "And I'm not so sure I shouldn't tender it."

"You do, and I'll sock you one, right in the face," Gail said, shaking a finger at him. "You're not quitting on me, or on all the people who believe in you. No. As Dean would say: not gonna happen."

Bobby sighed, rising to his feet. "All right, let's go see what she wants."

Patricia was still smiling when she got the call: the three other candidates wanted to see her in the boardroom, right away. Or, the TWO other candidates, she amended, her smile widening. Interesting. Maybe Castiel had come to his senses, and wanted to tell her that he was resigning. Wouldn't that be a sweet end to a sweet day?

But when she got to the boardroom, although the others were there, they denied having asked her to come. Rather, they were claiming it had been the other way around.

While they were all puzzling over that, another individual entered the room. He waved his hand, and the door closed behind him and locked, and the blinds closed with a snap.

"Let's all have a little chat, shall we?" Crowley said, smiling.

\- END OF BOOK 28. -


End file.
